Trepidations of the Mind
by VoltageStone
Summary: A collection of one-shots (I know, original) surrounding the horrors that often worm their way into Jade and Tori's relationship. At times, they are the horrors themselves. One-Shot Collection (Jori) -Rated M for Content-
1. Love Potion Number 9

_Oct. 16th, 17_

 _Hope you enjoy!_

 _:)_

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\- Love Potion #9 -

 _"We might be the master of our own thoughts, still we are the slaves of our own emotions..."_

 _-Unknown_

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 ** _No One's Perspective_** ** _-_**

Clouds began to caress the sky blandly, soft, grey eyes looking upon them, uninterested. Birds fluttered passed, narrowly avoiding the rocking of the grand Ferris Wheel as couples and small families overlooked the pier. His gaze wandered towards the blinking lights of the several booths, teeth grinding at the _deceptive_ \- as he'd call it - booths with stereotypical gypsies in long shawls settling themselves down for their wallets and purses to have a great, upcoming feast. The lanky teen twisted around, smiling appreciatively at the rather larger tent stocked full of book cases, tables and shelves with their temporary supporting walls; all circled about a rounded table, several instruments set to the ground whilst a great, silver sphere sat in its proper place.

"Roger?" called a weathered voice - though strong when she had wanted it to with a belt or sandal in her palms - from the side entrance, "Have you cleaned the- Oh, goodness, you did."

"Yeah," Roger shrugged meekly, "I did auntie. Did you see Albert by chance?"

A woman with great, wise eyes glanced over her shoulder, strong features softened with age and long, curled raven hair streaked with grey to white. "Well I wouldn't expect him to be later... _He_ did, after all, pass his driving test, right?" she hummed quietly, the boy scowling, hair running through his lengthy, dark blue hair. "Now do you need any money for the games?"

"Maybe tomorrow," he mumbled, leaning against a supporting pillar - as it _was_ a decent sized tent - thin lips pursed. Roger glanced up towards the small rack of bottled liquids along the highest shelf before him, eyes settling on a dismal, beer-bottle brown glass flask.

"Alright...now don't go messing around with too many potions, I still need some for the shop, alright?" the aunt fixed her necklace, eyebrow arched. "I said, 'alright?'" she barked sternly.

Abruptly shaking, Roger widened his eyes. "Yes- Yeah, yeah, of course, Aunt Ruby... I wouldn't want to do anything too serious," he grinned, a scrawled _#9_ written in his mind. The woman only pursed her lips, her skeptical stare lingering on the boy as he fidgeted. Her eyes glanced towards the flask just observed before, the label burning in her skull.

"You aren't thinking about Nine are you?" she asked quietly, Roger shaking his head. Before his jaw could slacken, she continued, "I've told you before, now... Don't go messing with that potion, it's the most powerful on the rack. Never mess with human emotions because you mess with their mind, making their desires - if they're already _there_ \- unbearable for a normal human. Even worse for one who dwells in their own thoughts enough-"

"I know Aunt Ruby..." he groaned, emerald eyes growing sharp.

"Uh, no, you don't because you were just thinking about messing around with that shit, Roger! How many times do I have to tell you?" she snapped, "Those ones on the top shelf are for those souls who need to be redirected in life or are _that_ inadequate to find a partner or just focus! Now, as I've said before, don't use that on somebody who you only _think_ is or isn't. The fact of the matter, 'Love Doctor,' is that our line of work is based on perception, not for your entertainment."

Raising a brow, the teen scoffed. "Yeah, well what about that guy you sent to jail?" he whined, "They even made a song about it!"

"And he became one of the most influential people to get people to stop and _think_ ; I've been doing this for five-hundred years, Roger, and there'll be triple that more until I'm retired," she finished strenuously.

Rolling his eyes, Roger shuffled back towards the slit in the curtain, a quick grin spreading across his face. "Hey Albert! Over here!" he waved, the incoming guest grinning cheekily with stark, blue eyes clashing violently with his sleek, grey hair.

"We aren't done with this Roger," Ruby muttered firmly, the boy sighing.

"I'm not going to _do_ anything, auntie," he grit his teeth, steps shuffling towards the tent. He jerked away as the curtain was pulled, Albert's signature smile flashing brightly.

"Hey Roger, hi Madam Ruth," he bowed to both, "So how's the little operation going then?"

Managing a believable, warm smile, Ruby nodded, greeting, "Why we're doing well with this season... Now how are you doing? Got that driver's test out of the way, I hear." Shrugging modestly, Albert blushed softly; he'd never been one to accept lavished compliments.

"Anyway," Roger cut in gaining both of their attention, "We can stop by and get some food. I'm kinda hungry."

Nodding, Albert agreed, patting his stomach. "I could do with some food..." Turning to the eccentric woman, the guest gratefully murmured, "I like what you've done here... I've never really been a huge fan of this type of stuff but this is cool even if it was fake."

Laughing heartily, Madam Ruth took the comment, replying, "Well, we ought to know how to set the stage, don't we?" Chuckling, Albert bade the woman a good day, following the rather impatient Roger out of the tent. Lowering his voice, as they snaked around the tent, he asked, "So, you said you'd show me some potions?" With a sly grin, the blue-haired teen slid his hand down his pocket, bringing a tip of a bottle to the sunlight. Albert widened his eyes as the glass shone in the light, bright eyes switching to Roger. "What is that exactly?"

"Oh...a fun one. I mean, you have to be careful when you're using it, don't want to use it on the wrong people, but it's a good one," Roger promised, steps already setting off towards the small circle of tables.

"What do you mean? Which one is that?" Albert asked curiously.

"I mean, it's not that dangerous, it just is funny when it kinda messes up. I've had this one chick who threw a snow cone at this dude after I got him to enjoy her ass a bit. My _god_ ," he chuckled gleefully, "Now that was a show."

With his brows furrowed, the other tilted his head, long strides shortening to match Roger's own. "But...what is it?"

Smirking, Roger quietly announced, "Love Potion Number Nine, baby."

"Wait," Albert gave a half-smile, "Like the song?"

"The very same," Roger nodded proudly, "And it only does what the song puts out, I promise. Now, there are a few things that you do have to watch out for, but otherwise it's good."

Both halted before a smaller table settled in the corner of the lot, the waves of the water the main earful once in the chairs. Roger scowled at the packed lines before Albert gestured towards the chairs. "Come on, we can sit and wait for the lines," he jerked his chin, the other slowly following suit. With both at the table, grey eyes glued to the source of the mouth-watering aroma of foods, Albert cleared his throat. Once gaining his friend's attention, he pointed towards the filled pocket. "So...what _are_ the few things you need to watch out for that?"

"Oh," Roger blinked, his excited glint making an appearance. "Well, I'm always pretty good with it, it's just sometimes the potion doesn't really work...it has its quirks and whatnot, like all do. Sometimes it'll have people gettin' some in the porta potties and other times it'll lead to people throwing snow cones." Albert nodded along as the potion was drawn out, the brown flask shining with vim. "But, there are things you have to be careful of..." he continued seriously, "Like, for instance, you can't put too much. For one, this stuff _reeks_ , and it's like a thin, black oil. People will notice. Two, this stuff is strong and I don't need to put a lot more than _at most_ two drops... I normally do half unless I really want the two to be together. I've seen some of the ones I've paired up at extravagant weddings. It's pretty sweet.

"Anyway," he waved off, Albert resting his chin on his palms, "Three, can't do it on people who already like each other. I mean, it's technically _not_ a love potion, but that's what it's normally used for...by me. But, you can't do it on relationships already established since a) it's no fun and b) there is a chance of them breaking up."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?" Albert furrowed his brows.

Raising a hand, Roger murmured, "Like I said, it's technically not a love potion. We just call it _nine_ since that's how many years it takes to brew. But, like I said, it's no big deal. I only choose people who aren't together and if they are - by some chance - they aren't in love. One thing I know is that I can't do it when they're in love... I feel like my aunt would beat the shit out of me."

"Why? Wait..." Albert rolled his eyes, "You're not supposed to have that, are you?"

Shrugging, Roger assured confidently, "She just needs to relax...has too many years on her, I think. It's not that big of a deal. The worst it's done was send someone to jail for getting too close to a police officer with a woody." Albert snickered, Roger adding, "And that was _her_ fault so... Anyway, nothing's bad happened because I'm observant right -" Albert agreed with a nod of his head "- and I've studied psychology. Like I said, nothing could go wrong while I'm in charge with this."

"Well, you are called the Love Doctor for a reason," Albert grinned, easing back into his chair. "D'you have more of those or what?"

"Nah," he shook his head, "The neck of the bottle's lasted me a year so far and my aunt is a stickler with this type of shit, even though she still doesn't know I switched out the potions. No, once the other one runs out, she'll bring out the next batch when it's done."

"And you said that's in nine years?"

"Eh," Roger sighed, stretching into his seat, "Just a blink of an eye for me."

"Alright, alright," Albert raised his arms, "That's cool for me. You see, _I_ , for one, plan on getting my own date potion-less." With a wicked snicker, Roger pocketed the potion, briefly - teasingly - promising to do so anyway. "In your dreams buddy," the other laughed off, pointing towards the lines. "We can go over and get some stuff."

"Cool," Roger replied simply, hand burrowing to his other pocket, pulling out flakes of green. "I've got...cool, I can get some sodas."

"Sodas? Dude, I don't think you're one to pack that much," Albert observed the skinny boy beside him.

Rolling his eyes, the blue-haired teen muttered, "Not _all_ of them are for me. Two of them are for us and then the...three? Three," he recounted his cash, "Would be for the lucky souls with good ol' Nine!"

"Ah... Okay," Albert bobbed his head slowly, slinking to the back of a rather shorter line. "So...who first then?"

"Dunno, we can scope out some people when we're eating," Roger said nonchalantly, turning to the grinning cashier.

Tipping his hat lightly, the cheery worker greeted, "Howdy. What would you like gents?"

"Erm... Two Sprites?" Roger turned to his side, Albert giving a thumbs up. "Yeah, two Sprites and three root beers... And then a hotdog."

"And a burger for me," the other put in, the gleeful man smiling.

Adding up the total before shuffling for the orders, he muttered, "Alright, that all folks?" When both boys nodded, handing their money, the man bade them a good day before turning to the next set of customers.

Settling back to the table with arms full, Roger organized the drinks and food carefully. "Okay, that's set," he beamed, his friend already three bites into his burger. "So, all we have to do is see who to choose and get the potion ready and set." Albert merely coughed his approval, his curiosity drowning any conscious logic floating through his brain. Carefully, Roger lifted the lids of all of the Styrofoam cups, tongue pinched between his teeth. With potion bottle in hand, he unscrew the black lid, eyes briefly dropping to the tag wrapped around the neck of the bottle. The label, _#9_ , earned another determined gleam in his eyes. With something that had reminded Albert of an eyedropper, Roger carefully - and barely - dropped in one small drip each, barely half the size of his pinky finger's nail.

"Doesn't seem like a lot," Albert observed, Roger nodding humorlessly.

"Most of the time, there doesn't have to be. Sometimes...people just need that little push, you know?" he asked, settling in his seat. "That, and these'll ferment a bit in the sodas so it'll make it a tad bit stronger, so it'll add up to what I normally do anyway."

"You're the Love Doctor here," Albert mumbled, "So show me with any of these people."

"M'kay," the first boasted, leaning into his chair with his meal in his grip. Eyes calculatedly wandered along the tables, head shaking whenever an unsuitable pairing came to mind. Within a couple of bites of his hotdog - which left only the bun anyhow - Roger sighed. "None of these people. If I did, it either be with couples or lead to incest," he hummed, getting to his feet. "But we can walk around and find strangers alone," he shrugged.

"Again," Albert repeated, "You _are_ the Love Doctor here." Roger grinned, his frame standing taller with his friend standing by his side - still half a head over his own - with drinks in hands. On a mission, the two ducked towards the edge of the pier, eyes out for any opportunities for potential matches. Though, as each expected internally, the job would be quite harder to do as festivities such as this often gathered couples and families, making for an awkward situation if a potion were to slip. That, Roger was sure not to do.

The waters reflected their unceasing hope, either way, their paces constantly circling the pier.

All at once, Roger shot out his arm freckled to the shoulder, Albert halting immediately. "Here we go," he grinned, grey eyes watching a man as he shuffled his feet, giving a nervous glare at a group of men - Roger assumed to be his friends - as a girl glanced to her phone, oblivious to the others. Cracking his knuckles, the teen quickly asked the other to hold the second drink for him, "- and watch, alright? It'll be cool, just watch."

Albert nodded, seating himself on a bench, eyes to the show unfolding before him. His stomach grew queasy as Roger strolled towards him, halting with a confused expression. "What's goin' on?" he turned to the men, one of them laughing out a response as the humiliated character blushed, eyes to the fairly attractive girl. Glancing over to the man, Roger gave a small smile, offering, "Well, I think she'd like a root beer, right? Don't worry - I know I'm a stranger and all that but I just bought it for my girl over there... You can have it to give it to her, if you'd like."

The nervous man - about twice Roger's size - nodded slowly, baby stepping towards the teen. "Yeah, I'll take it..." Roger saluted in a child-like manner, the man giving a more gentle one. He shifted his gaze towards the rest of his friends, all nodding with playful smiles. And so the man puffed out his chest, turning towards the girl. Roger, minding his space, edged his way towards Albert who watched the girl take a sip, nodding her thanks.

"Not instant?"

"Not exactly," Roger murmured, attention over his shoulder. With a successful blossom of the chest, the man fist-pumped the air with a heart-warming, youthful smile as the young woman reached for her bag, drink at hand. "There we go... See, I just push, I don't try to get them at it immediately, you know?" Roger grinned.

Tapping his chin, the taller of the two grinned, praising lightly, "You are the Love Doctor!" He pointed towards the girl as she strolled on her way, the man following like a little puppy whilst the rest of the group gawked with astonished grins. "So, what about we do another?"

"Well, we have two left and a bottle so...yeah. Let's make people together!" Roger raised his hands excitedly, adding, "Isn't this cool? We get to decide people's fates!" Albert's smile flickered at the comment, his steps trudging behind momentarily; a cold, dripping tension rested in his gut uneasily, his eyes glancing wearily down at the root beers in his hands. Even so, he followed Roger dutifully, the excited teen glancing around with confidence lifted. And so the process started once more, the two boys searching for countless minutes for the right, compatible two who'd be the perfect fit.

"What about those two?" Albert gestured towards a lone pair on a bench, each to their books.

Watching the two from afar skeptically, Roger nodded. "Yeah, they'll be a nice fit," he grinned brightly, elbowing his friend's side, "Good work dude! You could be my intern."

"Are you paid?" he chuckled, Roger only giving a sly 'yes.' The boy was then handed over the spiked drink, leisurely striding towards the bench before tucking the drink beside an identical one - which had belonged to the girl - before sneaking the other from her side. He glared briefly at the book, half-heartedly wanting a more exciting adventure. Though, with eyes still glued to the pages, he strode back towards Albert, eyes to the back of the bench. "Get it?"

"Uh huh..." he mumbled, pressing his lips to the girl's former drink. The girl - he grinned - reached for the drink beside her, taking a small sip before setting it back down. Though, with a bit of luck he'd admit, the drink sloshed to its side, spooking both participants. The young man turned his head, chuckling slightly as she blinked up towards him. He gave a soft smile before apologizing, the girl shaking her head. "There we go," Roger announced quietly, "Another one good!"

"Cool," Albert breathed, the expression on his friend's face raising a brow. "Now why do you look so happy?"

"Oh," Roger breathed, "I just wish I was right up there, you know, getting to see how they get along. With this potion, and any potion I guess, you can see the change in their eyes. The more dramatic the better because it's just more enjoyable to watch them and see how they're doing, you know?"

"You really enjoy this, don't you?" the other asked, Roger nodding.

He folded his arms, answering, "Absolutely... It's just such a fascinating thing to see and I just, I don't know, I just feel like a little hero helping these people."

"Well then little dude," Albert sighed, his weariness dissipating, "Let's help another couple of people out." Rubbing his palms, Roger bobbed his head, setting off back towards the main fair grounds. Their steps trotted on, grey eyes sweeping the crowd for anybody needing of his help. Glancing swiftly at the watch along his wrist, he grumbled to himself. "What is it?"

"Oh, it's seven-o-seven... My aunt's going to want me to help her get set for the night," he explained. Albert sighed in sympathy, seating himself down as Roger did as well. He fell in his set determination, the taller only able to fiddle with his thumbs, drink between his feet.

Running a hand through his rather wild hair - as Madam Ruth described - Roger began to pick up on conversations, nothing on the eyes gaining his attention. He rested his chin on his hands, brows furrowing slightly as clicks of boots padded their way to the bench beside him, another set of footsteps following. "What the hell are you doing?" came a snarky tone, splicing right through his focused mindset.

Another girl's scoff brought his attention to the bench, Albert right with him. "Oh come on, it's just a Ferris Wheel," the teen - whose strong cheekbones bought both of the boys' attention easily - sighed tiredly, adding, "I brought you here to have a fun time, remember? Not for you to pout just because."

Roger turned to Albert with wide eyes, mouthing 'should I?' When his friend only shrugged, he nodded, shifting his gaze as the other girl, clad in all black with striking eyes, shook her head dismissively. "It might take another drop though..." he murmured, quickly adding the second drop.

"How come?"

"Like I said, _usually_ I do one but sometimes...have to add more," Roger explained quietly. Holding his biceps, he hummed, "They're both pretty hot too...I'd really like to see them together." Albert hadn't put his input in as Roger glanced back down to the cup, hand over his lips.

"Jade, _Jade_!" the teen whined, doe eyes flaming with a sudden fire. "I swear she makes everything _so_ difficult," she swore under her breath, rushing after the goth once she slithered through the crowd. Hurriedly, Roger bolted right up, Albert jerking with him. With steps flashing through the crowd - Albert decently excusing himself - Roger caught up with the girls as the bickered at the edge of the pier. "Come on," the tanned girl growled, "I told you this wouldn't be too bad! You've been acting like a bitch all day."

"And you - sweet little _angel_ , yeah? - are absolutely pissing me off! I mean, come on, really? Going to a fair on the pier is supposed to be _unique_?" Jade snapped, folding her arms as the other rubbed her forehead.

Shaking her head, she sighed, "Alright...alright, I know. But it's just," she scratched her head, "I like it here and it's nice, okay?"

"It's by the water and you know how much I fucking _hate_ it," the black-clad goth growled, eyes wearily to the water.

"I said we wouldn't be by the water and you were fine with it before!" the tanned teen raised her arms, Jade sliding her eyes - somewhat guiltily as Albert observed - towards the other. He hadn't required Roger's quick motion to stop walking as his steps were already set to the ground. His eyes observed the pale teen with inquisitiveness, finding himself thrown between the look in her eyes and the snap at lacing her words as they competed against each other; she was impossible, where he stood, to read. Deciding that she'd be an absolute nightmare to manage in times like these as a date, Albert gnawed at the inside of his cheek. As the two girls continued, the boy felt as if he himself - who also shared the same fears as Jade - flung to the waves below, eyes quickly darting to Roger as he began his work.

"Hey...uh..." Roger glanced at the two, Albert worriedly closing his distance, a chill running down his spine at the brutal glare given from the goth, "My, erm, my girlfriend bought an extra one of these and I don't want any more so would you like it?"

The half-Latina glanced at the girl beside her, nodding slowly. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Root beer," Roger answered as Albert caught up. "Oh, hey bro, is she waiting by the stand?"

"Uh..." his mind blanked, head bobbing for him.

"Yeah, we'll take it," the teen nodded, Jade inhaling sharply.

"Alright, cool," Roger nodded enthusiastically, adding, "Well, see you around if you'll be here any longer!" With that, he left the two before joining a line in a stand, no intentions on playing the game. "Now let's see if it works!" he hummed, Albert glancing at the girls nervously. Both still talked back and forth, neither taking the drink. Roger furrowed his brows as the tanned girl handed the drink over to Jade with a rather cross expression, the goth grudgingly taking it. "And because I added another drop, it should do just the trick...maybe jump a few steps some people would do in dating but oh well," he shrugged, Albert weakly mimicking the last few words.

After a few moments, the goth did take a sip, brows slanted still. He sighed his regret of wasting a potion before the drink was dropped, liquid spilling between the cracks of the pier's mighty boards before Jade grabbed the other, lips meshing each other feverishly. "God damn!" he cursed, chuckling to his side, "I mean, that's happened tons of times before but I just thought an extra drop would just get them hugging and asking to date!"

"But..." Albert's voice cracked, the other glancing at him attentively, "But what if they're already dating..."

"There's no way, I can feel it," Roger stated confidently before hesitantly adding, "And if they are, well, they looked like they were on a verge of an inevitable break up. And now I fixed them! Easy peasy." Albert stood, still uncertain. "What do you want to do, add more?"

"No, _no_ , I don't," he answered quickly, "I just want to see if they _are_ actually dating or not..."

"You do that and tell me, alright? Wait, they're going somewhere," Roger observed, eyes following the two as they trailed off - the goth held by the other's wrist - to the, "Ferris Wheel... See? I'm he Love Doctor! They're going to the Ferris Wheel!" Finding that his friend was still uncertain, Roger compromised. "Alright, okay, fine...we'll check up on them after their ride's done. And you'll have to do it and act like you just ran into them, okay? I'm with my girlfriend."

Nodding softly, Albert followed the blue-haired teen to the glimmering ride, the sun's rays disappearing into the early night's sky. Both sat on a couple of chairs to a table, eyes eagerly awaiting the two as they made their way around the ride. Finding Roger distracted by the passing, Albert lifted himself from his seat, jogging towards the center of the pier whilst the girls were departing from the box; the stars, meanwhile, shone brightly from up above.

With his head down, Albert continued nearly blindly on his path, brushing his shoulder against the other girl's - who he didn't know her name - shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized quickly, flashing a brief smile at the two.

Chuckling, she answered, "No worries- Hey, weren't you over there?"

"Over- Yeah, _yeah_ , hey then... You two were having a little spat, right?" he asked cautiously, eyes flicking between the two. All nerves left his gut once pale eyes lingered on the half-Latina, a life-filling, bright gleam in her eyes; he suspected that it hadn't been there for quite the long time.

Shrugging, the girl answered, "Oh yeah, that's just what we do though. Nothing new, really." She glanced to her side a tad sheepishly, Jade pursing her lips.

"Oh," he blinked calmly, both sets of eyes sweeping to him, "You two dating?" Immediately, his stomach began to churn once glancing towards Jade's abrupt glare; the cracks of grey grew supernaturally to a darker shade - he quickly recalled his friend sitting on the bench mere yards away - the livid pulse running through them with ease.

"What does it have to do with you?" she hissed venomously, eyes narrowing whilst the other had her jaw unhinged, answer leaving without a sound.

"Uh..." the girl turned to her side, Albert shrinking underneath the overpowering stare, "Jade?" Her soft voice brought Jade back the step she had taken forward, eyes trailing down to the hand clasped around her stomach, keeping her back. Pale eyes, without the dark aggression or the delightful gleam, blinked towards the ground, brows furrowed in confusion. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry, she can get a bit jealous like anyone," the girl murmured, blinking with a tight smile.

Shaking his head, Albert raised his hands. "It's cool, it's cool... I did come off as a bit forward... Anyway, glad you two are fine then, I'll just be the third-wheel in a wagon that seemed to have run off." With both biding him a good night - the first giving a soft farewell whilst Jade a mere nod - the teen nearly tore off towards Roger. He pressed his palm against Roger's shoulder, the blue-haired boy twisting around.

"Oh hey! Were the girls enjoying...what's wrong?" his expression dropped at the paper white skin before him.

"They _are_ dating," he rushed, glancing over his shoulder as the two strolled towards the parking lot.

Shrugging, Roger hummed, "Well, we helped them, remember? The Love Doctor and his trusty intern!" His laughs weren't echoed though he grew oblivious to the fact. "Anyway, we need to go back to my aunt, she'll be wondering."

"Right," Albert hummed, shoving his fists into his pockets as he internally gathered all the hope he could muster for the two as his naïve friend trotted along.

 **. I .**

The silence of the car weighed down between the two, the radio's neon green light serving as the only source of illumination beside the distant pier. Doe eyes watched the passenger seat wearily, her gaze briefly flying past the keys in the ignition. She cleared her throat, running a hand through her hair as she exhaled slowly. "Jade?" she asked steadily.

"What is it Tori?" the goth growled tiredly, the half-Latina grimacing at the weak attempt at a bite.

"Jade...why did you do it?" Tori asked faintly.

"Do what?" Jade snapped, Tori remaining quiet. She leaned into her chair, arms folded as eyes became firmly set on the glove department. "I told you, I didn't like the water below my feet with rotting wood supporting me."

Tori pursed her lips, recalling hot breaths against her collar as the Ferris Wheel went through its cycle, the matter of going completely from her mind. "I wasn't talking about that... I mean, you _did_ say you were fine when we went in and you were enjoying yourself for a bit, right? We kept away from the sides, didn't we?" she asked quietly. Jade kept silent, staring at the radio as it played no tunes to fill the atmosphere; though, she concluded that it wouldn't have made a difference. "Jade? Are you alright?"

"Well, like I said, I don't like the water-"

" _Jade_ , that's not what I'm talking about. Why d'you snap at that kid?"

The goth snorted with a short, false snicker, replying, "Oh really? A kid a foot taller than you?"

"My god Jade, why did you snap at him?" Tori repeated.

Raising her arms briefly, Jade groaned, "Because I- What do you expect me to say? I don't know, alright? He just, and you and..."

Tori sighed softly, murmuring, "Jade-"

"Quit with that!" she hissed abruptly. "I know I promised, I'm working on it, okay? Just...I..."

"J-" Tori caught herself, closing her eyes as she restarted her question. "I know you were, it's just why him? He wasn't doing anything wrong, he was just asking if we were dating. We are, aren't we? There's nothing wrong with asking."

Nodding, Jade choked, "Yes, we are. I just- I just...I couldn't stand having every girl flock around Beck for nearly three years and now with you... There's still a lot who do and I just..."

"And you're working on it, I know," the half-Latina hummed softly, her hand gently caressing Jade's own. "My thing is, you do trust me don't you? I won't leave you Jade, I never would. Beck might have slipped up but he's still your best friend, right? And, well, I'll remain with you for as long as we can. I'd like that to be till we die but..." her sentence grew quiet, her last question filling the uncomfortable silence, "You do trust me, right?"

"Of course I trust you!" Jade whined, exasperated, "I just- It's I don't trust other people and, and I'm working on it, I promise... But with today, I..."

Tori remained silent, allowing the goth the time to explain, only to find that no words were able to be found. "'I' what? Why did you snap at him?"

"I- I don't know," Jade furrowed her brows, her mouth settling in the bitter, metallic taste. She closed her eyes, dully recalling the aggravated, frantic wave of pine filling her nostrils as the tainted root beer - it was too sweet for her taste - washed in her mouth. She blinked, finding that she was nearly an hour later, gripping her biceps with the cool air sifting between the broken window in the back right of the car. "I don't know," she finalized her answer.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," the goth repeated weakly, "I just, I didn't feel anything and I- I don't know."

Tapping her thumbs against the wheel, Tori nodded slowly, not quite understanding the response. Nevertheless, she offered, "Do you want to go back to your house and cancel tonight? You seem a bit pale."

"Yeah... I- I might have had something weird," Jade admitted mutely. With Tori's grip around the key, and a jolt of necessity, Jade held the half-Latina's wrist. Tori turned to her side, closing her eyes once lips pressed against her softly. Her mind filled with memories of camping with her family, the tall, pine trees reaching for the stars - only for a mere second as her palms met cold cheeks, her brows furrowing. Even so, she pressed against her heatedly, Jade eventually the one to pull away.

"I'm guessing a little later?" Tori asked, her voice husked. Jade only nodded, lips finding their spot on the half-Latina's jawline before meeting her lips once again.

 **. II .**

Breezes brushed against her bare skin, eyes drawn peacefully at the table. Heaving a long sigh, Tori lifted her eyes towards the school doors, internally groaning. _'This is why we shouldn't be let out early,'_ her thoughts hammered; she concluded that thirty minutes was much too early and having no homework on top of that was just putting her in a place of boredom. She glanced towards the several others who'd gravitated towards the Asphalt Café as she had, all picking at the tables with their stomachs already filled from the food truck sitting by the edge. Even Festus sat, staring blankly at a passing butterfly. Though, from what Tori knew, this would be a part of his usual daily cycle.

Tori jerked her head as the bell shrilled, a small smile planted across her lips - any company would be accepted.

And minutes later, students began to pile through the doors, immediately lining for their own food. She tapped her foot, eyes settled on her bag before her attention was latched to a familiar face. "Hey Andre," she greeted, "How was algebra?"

"The test isn't that bad," he shook his head. "I thought it would be a bit 'cause we've only had a week or two on the unit since Fall break but you'll do fine," the musician added.

"Alright...what's on it?" Andre quirked a brow, the half-Latina rolling her eyes. "You know what I mean. I'm not telling you to give me the answers to any of them," she explained.

Chucking with his sandwich at hand, he answered, "Some graphing, erm...most of them are on the two equations we learned this week and, uh, word problems."

"That's it?"

Nodding, he added, "You good with that? It is your next period right?"

"I only have to study the equations. I'm fine with the graphing but the word problems'll probably screw me over anyway," she shrugged. "It's no big deal though, I'll do fine I think." His dark eyes rested on the empty space in front of Tori.

Once swallowing his large bite, Andre asked, "So, are you not eating Tori? That's not healthy, you shouldn't be like one of those anorexic mode-"

"I'm _not_ anorexic," she rolled her eyes, "And I already ate. Mrs. Andersen let us out really early."

"How early?" he asked.

"Thirty minutes."

His eyes briefly widened, flicking over her shoulder briefly. He flashed a grin. "Hey," he addressed the incoming traffic before she pressed her lips against Tori's cheek, "You've looked more bitter."

As she settled beside Tori with her coffee in hand, Jade murmured, "Well, I can't really say I haven't been more relaxed." Andre nodded, eyes observing as the goth began to play with Tori's palm idly.

"Relaxed..." he scrunched his nose at the expression on his face, "More like lovey-dovey. You two have been acting like a couple of love birds."

"Love birds don't exist," she said flatly, adding, "They constantly cheat on each other." Planting a light kiss on Tori's temple, she murmured about needing to get some food and Ginger Ale. "Head's hurting a little bit," she clarified, watching the other's changing expression.

"Again?" Tori tilted her head.

Shrugging, Jade hummed, "Probably from last night... Couldn't sleep." Tori nodded as she went off, Andre folding his arms.

"What?"

"Okay, two things," he held up is right index and middle, "One, how can someone tell me cute little birds cheat on each other and then be all cuddly with her girlfriend?"

Resettling in her seat, Tori mumbled, "I don't know, she's been really cheerful lately. You don't need to damper it."

"Uh huh..." he drawled, "And secondly, what's with her head?"

"Nothing much," Tori sighed, "I think she's just starting to get whatever bug's been going around." Andre took the answer, shifting his gaze over his shoulder to find Jade sneezing, shaking her head. "That, and she's been sneezing a little bit. It'll pass though; if she's inhumanly enough to not sweat, I think she's fine with not getting sick."

Chuckling, Andre murmured, "You're telling me." It was only a few minutes when Andre finished his lunch, Jade striding back with her own in her arms. Sitting down, she briefly glanced up towards the new company making their way over, cheerfully conversing to each other.

"Hey," Robbie grinned, taking his place beside Andre as Cat in between Jade and the ventriloquist, "So Cat and I were thinking about going to the movies on Saturday, want to come over and watch?"

"Sure," and "Yeah," were given by Andre and Tori respectively, the thespian hesitant to answer.

"What movie?" she asked.

" _Darkening Days_ ," Cat hummed.

Jade nodded slowly, diving back to her food as fingertips danced across her back. She grew quiet as the table conversed about the movie, nestling into the gentle grip beside her.

 **. III .**

The wide screen flashed as the scenes played, the line of seats filled to the brim with people. Settled in the far, back corner sat the gang of six, all of whom enjoying the show immensely. Tori, to the far side with the goth, munched on the popcorn. Jade reached in the bowl - something to Tori's delight as Jade never opted to have the "cheap popcorn" - shoveling a few into her mouth. With another handful in mind, Tori dove back in, only to have a gentle warmth press against her temple.

She smiled, lips finding one another's briefly before going back towards the food. "Aww..." Cat sighed quietly.

Both turned towards the redhead, Jade's lips pursed. "What?" Tori whispered.

"You two are cute," she answered, glancing back towards the screen. Jade only shrugged, much to Tori's enjoyment. As the screen exploded into a sudden soundtrack, they became fixed with the story. Minutes later, the half-Latina grinned at the soft hand brushing against hers. She took it with a light squeeze. "You are becoming a little sap, aren't you?" she asked Jade quietly.

"Whatever," Jade smiled, sipping at her soda. She grinned as Tori rested her head against her shoulder, the affection blooming in her chest.

If one were to look closely, the small crack in Jade's smile and glossed eyes would be prevalent.

 **. IV .**

"One coffee with two sugars for you and then a Caramel Frappuccino for me!" the half-Latina chirped, the two cups in her hands. Jade smiled, laughing lightly before pressing lips against a cheekbone.

"Thanks," she mumbled sweetly, Tori grinning.

"You're welcome," she answered, striding away from Jet-Brew and towards the Asphalt Café. "So you're still in this nice mood I see," she laughed as Jade mimicked Tori's skipping.

Shrugging, Jade mumbled, "I'm not sneezing the life and soul out of me."

"That's good," Tori hummed. Both settled down at the table with Beck and Andre picking their heads up from the textbooks at their laps. The two parties greeted each other, Tori laughing at Beck's humorous joke. Jade gave a few chuckles, hand on Tori's knee. As the three began talking around her, full lips against the smoldering cup of coffee, Jade narrowed her eyes towards the Canadian. He smiled gingerly towards the half-Latina who continued to explain how she wanted to learn more Russian.

 _"He's going to take her,"_ a firm voice rasped in her ear, Jade setting her drink down on the table. She closed her eyes shut, attempting to drown out the thoughts away. _"I'm not one of yours, Jade... I best introduce myself: I'm Nine."_

 _'Get out of my head,'_ her own pondered viciously, eyes drawing towards Tori.

"Are you okay?" Tori asked, Jade picking up her gaze. Nodding, Jade mumbled about the coffee burning her tongue unpleasantly, the half-Latina laughing. "Well, let me kiss the pain away then," she humored, pecking her lips against Jade's.

Beck watched with a huge, cheesy smile, never regretting that fateful night when he offered Jade a hand in getting a date.

 **. V .**

The pencil tapped absentmindedly against her paper, doe eyes resting blankly at what was written. "Jade? How the hell do you write so fast?" she chuckled as another paper was flipped over.

"Easy: I write well and in handwriting that doesn't take long to do," came a snarky remark. Tori only rolled her eyes, glancing over her shoulder. Jade rested against her pillows, scrawling over the pages with her tongue between her teeth, brows furrowed in concentration.

"Could we do something better than homework?"

Jade paused, pale eyes sweeping towards the other. "Whatdyoumean?" came in a slur, Tori placing her own set of papers down on the floor.

"Well," she drawled, crawling towards the goth, "I mean this." Lips met the crook of Jade's neck, hands pushing the pencil and papers away, knocking over the binder. Tilting her head to the side, Tori hummed, "So?"

Biting on her bottom lip, Jade nodded with a smirk, lips soon meshing against Tori's own. The singer giggled once her back met the sheets, Jade over her.

 **. VI .**

Nails dug in their grip as she breathed against hot skin. Soft hands caressed her back gingerly, careful not to break anything fragile; Tori leaned into the peppered kisses along her neck, eyes glazing over the abandoned homework feet from the bed. She hummed, pulling away with dark eyes lingering over Jade's own. Her brows furrowed, her body leaning forward despite her new found hesitance; there was no exciting danger seeping in the mist of grey, only the amorous glint shining alternatively.

No sharp claws breached her flesh, drawing light red lines, as fingers swam across smooth skin; nor did teeth find their fading marks as careful pecks pressed against bronze. The half-Latina shut her eyes, kneading pastel skin for husked words of affirmation to spew through. She gasped once only fingers brushed between her legs, back arching as her stomach brushed against the other - no words came. Nevertheless, breaths hitched as molten warmth spread throughout her abdomen, jaw clenching.

With a sudden jerk, her own talons clamped down, lips pressing against Jade's forcefully. Only light touches were received, gingerly gliding across her back. They were unable to sink deeper than skin, to sink closer to her pulsing beat nestled under her breast. Incoherent pecks grazed her chest, the singer's head back as her neck was exposed. Her body shivered in gratification while eyes stung, mourning for the lost aches that had once resided along her skin, practically spelling out one word.

She rested her head against Jade's shoulder, breathing hard to keep the simple word in, to ignore the four letters.

 **. VII .**

"I guess..."

"So, that's a 'no' then?" Cat whined, Tori shrugging while Jade shuffled around in her locker.

"Well, Cat," Jade grumbled, "I kind of can't go around in a fluffy costume for the parade! We'd be sitting there when it's eighty-degrees outside."

Side-stepping, Tori murmured quietly, "She said seventy."

"Same difference," Jade answered, going through her locker.

Cat turned towards Tori with the same question, the half-Latina shaking her head apologetically. "I'm sorry Cat, I have that dentist appointment, remember?" she answered, pointing at her teeth.

"Oh yeah, right," the redhead scowled, adding, "Stupid dentist."

"Well hey," Tori offered, "You could ask Robbie to do it. He'll agree, right Jade?"

"Uh huh..." Cat chirped, finding Robbie lounge through with Rex perched at his shoulder. Giving a quick farewell, she followed him, asking the same question once again. "That didn't take much... Even lied about the appointment," Jade hummed, Tori rolling her eyes.

"Well, I do actually have one."

"You mean you would've pranced around in a costume all day?" With no answer making an appearance, the goth smirked. Pale eyes flickered over the half-Latina's shoulder - who was adjusting the brown behemoth of a bag - quickly glaring off at the small herd raising brows towards Tori. With a stampede of possessiveness surging through her skull, Jade wrapped her arms around the singer, twisting her until the half-Latina was against her open locker. "Shut up," Jade breathed with a smirk, immediately diving to unsuspecting lips.

Tori groaned, puzzled by the sudden admiration - though it didn't take long to get into the kiss, the locker covering half of the action.

The boys, thusly, blinked, furrowing their brows before skirting off; they hadn't had the proper window to watch.

 **. VIII .**

She dropped her pen, unable to focus with the slight migraine rushing through her head. Ignoring it, Jade dove back to her work, only to find herself on the same problem ten minutes later. Biting her bottom lip, she sighed, dropping the pen and shoving it off the bed. _"She doesn't want to be with you,"_ festered in her head, Jade rubbing her temple. _"She doesn't want you around, ever. She only puts up with you. You're not good for her."_

Jade growled as the rush of thoughts obliterated her line of thinking, eyes skewing shut. Blinking moments later, she eyed her phone carefully. Taking the device, she tapped the screen, hesitating when she began to type.

 **Jade- I miss you.**

 _"She doesn't want you around,"_ strolled through once again as no answer came for several minutes. She sighed, setting the pear-phone down before it vibrated.

 **Tori- Me too. :3**

She smiled at the text, furrowing her brows as the sudden urges left her, leaving her as she'd been before. Deciding she needed some time away from the small stack of papers, Jade strode towards the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Pale eyes flickered towards the mirror, her ministrations halting. The reflection only smirked at her, tilting her head to her side. Something wrenched in her gut, Jade leaning forward as the double had, gripping the edges of the sink.

It took her a minute to realize, with a lurch, what she hated about the mirror. Goose bumps began to prickle against the collar of her shirt.

Her reflection was smiling at her with a wicked gleam in her eye.

Jade, however, wasn't smiling by any means.

 **. IX .**

They crowded around the food truck, awaiting their meals. Jade kept her arm around Tori who leaned into her, pale eyes scoping around. She glared at any onlooker, following their trail before they were out of sight. Tori, grimacing at the few who stumbled off, needing to get in line, pursed her lips. They shuffled forward as the other four followed suit, turning towards Festus with their orders. Being a place behind them, Tori and Jade remained looking the menu - not that it took long. The blond before them shuffled through his wallet, humming about his left over money on his card. (Festus, previously, started to deal out cards for his food truck, all of which would expire that very evening.)

Turning around, the teen smiled, asking, "Hey, uh, so I have this leftover money on my thing here and I can't eat much more than this so...do you want it?"

Before Tori could answer, Jade snapped, "She doesn't need your money."

"I'll take it, thank-you," Tori murmured, taking the card before glancing towards Jade. "What the hell is wrong with you? He's just being nice," she muttered as the blond took his order.

"I'm the only one aloud to be nice," Jade growled, frowning as her continuous, internal battle ensued.

"Uh, _really_? Because you're known for being a gank, Jade," Tori scoffed, "Now come on. Not everybody is trying to get in somebody's pants when they're helping them. And besides, I'm doing _him_ the favor."

 _"She will never love you. Look at yourself,"_ the voice began again, _"You disappoint her."_

Jade shrunk at thought. She looked away from Tori's concerned stare, a knot forming at the base of her throat. The line shifted, her head aching as the wash of the several, possessive urges seeped away, Jade feeling her heart thumping erratically at her guilt. "Jade? What do you want?"

"Ginger ale," she murmured.

Once both had stepped from the line, Tori asked, "Again?"

"What?"

"The ginger ale, you only drink the stuff when you're sick."

Shrugging, Jade replied, "My head still hurts... On and off." A comforting hand found her shoulder, the half-Latina arching a brow with anxiousness. The singer stayed quiet as the goth drank a quarter of the bottle, grimacing at the distant bell. "I- I'm sorry..." she mumbled as the freshmen scurried to their classes.

"With what?"

"The whole...thing..."

"I know you're trying Jade," Tori mumbled as both sat down along the table bench. Jade only stared into her bottle, lips pursed.

 _"She wants something better."_

 **. X .**

The bathroom door clicked shut, leaving the half-Latina sitting on the counter stool, Holly rummaging about in the kitchen. "Mom?" she asked, Mrs. Vega humming questionably. "So what's for dinner tonight?"

"Oh, you girls will probably have to look through the fridge again. I forgot to go to the store," came an answer. Tori sighed softly, nodding obediently; that had been the forth time in a row. "Now how are you and Jade doing? Still going strong?"

"Yeah," Tori mumbled.

"Uh oh, what's up?" Holly tilted her head to the side, picking up on Tori's breathiness.

"It's fine, really. I mean, she's Jade so she still gets jealous and all that," Tori explained, "But she's been really nice when we're alone. Like just all romantic and stuff." She had wanted to sound more optimistic at the second point, though she couldn't bring herself to it as she thumbed over her collar, wanting to wince at a fresh, dark mark.

Shrugging, Holly murmured, "Well, at least there's that... So have you two..." Tori picked up her head, arching a brow curiously; she hoped to God that the conversation wasn't going where her mind had just gone to seconds before. "Have you two said...anything?"

"Like we love each other?" Tori asked. The mother nodded, folding her arms. "Well, Jade did when she was at the hospital with all of the medication...and I did when she was sleeping but, uh... Not really, no."

"Well, at least you know you two do, right?" Holly smiled, Tori grinning gingerly in agreement, her mind off to masks and Russian Dolls.

Her breath shook dismally, hands gripping her head with eyes set at the sink. Distant chatter went unnoted to her as she swayed, elbows rocking against the countertop; her head, meanwhile, thumped continuously against her skull. Picking up her head, the teen found pale eyes reflected back, a light smirk painting her lips. She stumbled towards the wall, skewing her eyes shut as she pursed her lips tersely. She glanced towards the mirror, unsmiling, only to find her reflection leaning against the countertop.

The beats of her heart skipped over, the reflection snickering lightly. She pressed her fingers against her lips as she watched herself still gripping the counter. _"What are you doing?"_ the reflection breathed, cocking her head to the side. She stood still, planted against the wall, a good foot from the sink. _"Go back to her...go on,"_ she drawled, jerking her head towards the door. The teen hesitantly drifted her gaze towards the handle, shaking her head. _"Oh come on,"_ the reflection began playing with the tap, _"Go back to her. She might love you."_

The reflection chortled at her taunts, Jade jerking once the faucet sputtered with water - the _reflection_ of the faucet. Gasping, she reached for the faucet, twisting to turn it off to find that none of the water was hitting the basin. In the mirror, the water began to drip to the floor. "I'm going insane," she whimpered, back against the wall once more.

 _"Of course you are,"_ her own white teeth flashed before her, _"But that doesn't mean she's going insane for you, right? Perhaps she never will..."_

"Shut up," the teen hissed, gritting her teeth, "Shut _up_."

The reflection chuckled, shaking her head. _"You have a week, Jade. Remember that."_ The voice grew more rough, resembling the very same that had irritated her thoughts from before.

 _"One week."_

She collapsed on the bathroom floor once the mirror flickered, presenting no flowing water or a calm thespian.

 **. XI .**

Blankets covered her from her shoulder down, brows slanted in annoyance. She twisted to the other side, once again, growling to herself. Her reliable clock ticked on and on, keeping the time to the millisecond. Though, with each hand moving, it sent pin needles through her scalp, leaving the goth restless. Pale eyes flashed open once the minute hand had struck, eyes creeping towards the wall. _"Time...time...time,"_ the rasping voice continued, tagging along with the constant ticks.

With the minute hand crossing over the five in Roman Numerals, Jade had had enough. Bolting upright, she hissed as she tore across the room. "Shut-the fuck-up," she grit her teeth venomously, hurtling the device across the room. It soared into the wall, crunching horribly against it before smashing against the ground.

 _Tick...tick...tick...tick-_

"SHUT THE FUCK UP WILL YOU?" she bellowed, whipping the clock towards the opposing side. She winced at the morbid smash, blinking towards her standing mirror. The clock remained dead - lifeless - on the floor, the mirror with veins of cracks throughout. They festered in the corner before elongating towards the center, the space broadening at the top. Stepping closer, she gripped the edges, eyes focusing on the reflection before her.

It smirked back, whispering, _"You're running out of time, Jade..."_

Scoffing, she twisted around, heading to bed. The last words sent a running chill of guilt down her spine.

 _"She doesn't love you anymore... Not with your time."_

 **. XII .**

They circled around her locker, Jade scowling as the controlling thoughts had chewed at her head at their wake. The conversation was only a swarm of voices, melting with all of the others in the main hall. She adjusted her strap, closing her eyes tersely. Blinking, she glanced towards the others, Tori chuckling as Andre laughed along.

 _"She won't love you...she just puts up with your shit,"_ her mind echoed, adding to the discomfort in her stance.

She'd walked to school paler than usual - as she had the past few days - with the nightmares of a dark entity shrouding her thoughts. Accompanying those terrors were the quick trips to the bathroom, heaving over the toilet before black vomit was flushed down. Once sluggishly leaping back to bed from those trips, the dark entity would shriek violently, becoming more pronounced and sinister.

 _"She doesn't care enough to know,"_ the voice seethed.

In the mornings she would dip in and out of sleep before hauling herself to the bathroom mirror, having her makeup flawless with no signs of her horrors. The worried glances had become more frequent as she snarled more at the innocent merely picking up Tori's dropped pencil - her heart wrenched every time. And to have something physical would only add on to the guilt swinging over her, creaking as one more ounce would send the piano of sin crushing her.

She narrowed her eyes as Beck patted Tori's shoulder, shaking his head as the half-Latina giggled.

 _"She wants him around more than she wants you around,"_ Nine commented, snickering as another string snapped at the back of her head.

His hand lifted from her shoulder, Beck turning towards Andre as he left to go to class. Twisting to Jade, Back tilted his head to the side. "You want to go now too or..." he asked, grinning gently. Words beat at her skull before she lunged forward, hand to his chest as she hurled him to the lockers. "What the-" he managed, eyes widening as blades slid into her grasp.

"What are you trying to do?" she snapped, her mind buzzing with several nuances, "I see the way you look at her. _Stop_ trying to steal her from me!"

"Jade- _Jade_!" Beck gasped, holding his hands up, "I helped you set up your first date with her, what are you talking about? We're friends! We're friends!" Jealousy remained blinding the goth as she sneered, unconvinced.

"You're lying. I swear the next time you lay a hand on her I'll-"

" _Jade_!" Tori scolded from behind, "Lay off of him!" The bell shrieked in her ears, Jade immediately stepping from the Canadian. She groaned as the splitting ache racked inside of her head, hands gripping it tersely. Beck sighed wearily as he rubbed his collar, dark eyes meeting pale.

 _"He's in your way..."_ Nine husked in her ear, Jade's nails finding Beck once again. The second time against the locker would leave more pains than the one issued before, Jade spitting lividly.

"Don't take her away from me," she hissed, ignoring the weak attempts to take her attention. With patience dwindling, the simple tug at her sleeve sent the goth twirling, blades swiping quickly. As Beck collapsed to the ground, inhaling quick gulps of air, Jade whimpered as Tori whined. A long, arching red trail bled from her left forearm. All insanity fled from her thoughts as eyes watered, shifting between her girlfriend and best friend, both of which gazed at her in horror. "I'm sorry," she whimpered, to both, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"Jade," Beck hummed quietly, picking himself up, "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, feeling sick to her stomach. "I- I don't know... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_." Jade turned towards the half-Latina, wincing as red dripped to the floor. She stepped forward only for Tori to shuffle back instinctively, her body heeding its own desires. Clutching her biceps, Jade wept, "I'm sorry."

 _"She doesn't love you,"_ was whispered in her ear.

Blinking, Tori reached forward as Jade shuffled about, murmuring weakly, "Jade... Jade- Jade _wait_."

It was too late.

The singer choked as the goth leapt from her attempt of redemption, bolting through the double doors. Her vision blurred, settling on the abandoned scissors left on the floor. Carefully, she picked them up, gripping them tightly.

"Come on," Beck mumbled, "We have to go to the nurse." He reached a hand of comfort which was denied, Tori skirting to the side. Her gaze became set on the floor once the distant rumble of an engine was heard, those left in the hall coughing through the silence.

 **. XIII .**

Her phone buzzed on her bed as it had done for the past several hours as she stepped into the bathroom, gripping her forehead tightly. Her eyes still stung, heart plummeting with dread as the small tape recorder at the back of her skull constantly replayed the stunned expression painting the half-Latina's face. She glanced at the mirror, gripping the sides of the countertop. Jade whimpered, not able to look at herself any longer. Collapsing in her stance, her knees nearly touched the ground with her shoulders shaking.

"Christ..." she sobbed into her arms.

Taps sounded before her, Jade immediately halting. In a flash her head snapped in attention, the reflection sneering down with a small smirk. _"She doesn't love you, you know, definitely not now,"_ she hummed. Jade ignored her, turning her back to the reflection. _"You can't ignore me, you just can't. I will always be with you as I always have. Nobody will love you,"_ the reflection continued ruthlessly.

"Leave me alone," Jade mewled.

 _"What did everybody else do -"_

"Shut up," the goth gasped.

 _"Hmm? Everybody left you for other people. Beck may still be around but he's not with you, right?"_ the reflection drawled, leaning against the sink, tapping her fingertips around the top.

Scowling, Jade snapped wearily, "Tori wouldn't."

 _"You sound convincing,"_ she muttered. _"Listen,"_ the other Jade murmured, _"Who would after stabbing them? Hmm? No one."_

"Shut the fuck _up_ ," Jade wept, "I know... I know."

The reflection scoffed in turn, folding her arms. _"She never will. Nobody wants somebody like you -_ nobody _."_ Jade glared at the reflection, slowly standing to her fullest height. _"She doesn't want you anymore, you can't control yourself can you?"_

"I- I'm working on it-"

 _"Ah, you were working on it until this shit show started,"_ the double snickered. _"She doesn't want you no more. You promised to her and then you threw it away you ignorant bastard. I'm the only one sticking to the facts here and you are the one drowning in it."_

"In what?"

The reflection rolled her eyes, Jade scoffing hotly. _"If I know, you know,"_ it muttered, _"Remember? Tori hates you now. Doesn't want any part of you."_ Pale eyes shut as the double arched her eyebrow still spewing her mockery. _"First you attack every man who only pats her on the back..."_ The goth breathed heavily, stumbling back as she dove through her relatively recent memories. _"And then you slice her and betray her. You're nothing but some little piece of shit to be tossed into a forest."_

Eyes snapped open at the statement. Pine began to swell in memory, tagging along with the sickly, sweet drink. She instinctively clutched her stomach, swallowing the raw lump at the base of her throat. The mutterings were still flung at her, adding to the weight resting on her shoulders. "That kid..." she whispered, basking in the reflection's taunts. "What the fuck did he do to me?"

 _"What?"_ The reflection grinned as Jade glanced over. The double smirked, clearing her throat. Once again, the deep voice rasped out, Jade glowering. _"Why hello Jade,"_ the voice hummed, the reflection's eyes darkening to a glowing green, _"You know me... Nine, remember?"_

"What are you?" she spat, the reflection shaking her head.

 _"Look in the mirror, why don't you?"_ the reflection snapped, laughing heartily at her own prod.

 _"You're running out of time..."_ the voice murmured, _"She'll find herself another man and you'll be set behind bars by then, yes? She doesn't love you. She never will."_

"Shut up," she hissed, snatching her long blades from her side, "Shut the fuck _up_!"

Glass abruptly shattered ears ringing profusely. She screamed, collapsing to her knees with the glass raining over her back. The silence, thereafter, sat still, beckoning her to flood into the night. _"You need to go. You know who you're after..."_ She jerked, ramming herself against the door until the voice spoke volumes, humming persuasively in her ear. Glass cracked as she stepped through, Nine hindering her steps. Her chest filled with guilt while determination guided her into the night, the blades shining in the streetlights.

Her body moved with invisible strings tied to her joints, huge bricks at the other ends. She staggered through, eventually darting off once white lights shone behind her. Mindless, Jade stormed through any street she could find, hurriedly turning corners with wide eyes darting about.

Streetlight after streetlight, she eventually found herself in an odd part of town, one that she'd never cared to venture to. Her breaths were ragged, prompting her to fall to her knees, expelling out large heaving gasps.

Her gut abruptly twisted, sending her hands to the ground as well.

She gave into the black vomit as it burned up her esophagus. Jade trembled violently, her head searing in a sudden pain, Nine internally screaming violently. A low whistle reached her ears, turning her head towards the end of the street. Her eyes narrowed at the boy with exotic, blue hair, grey eyes blinking around the several shops. Her fingers twisted around her long, metal blades, paces beginning to venture towards him.

Roger halted in his whimsical thoughts, turning towards the other teen as she staggered towards him. He was about to greet her when she snapped, " _You_."

Blinking, he pointed to his chest. "Me?"

"What the fuck did you do to me?" she snarled, Roger shaking his head.

"I- I don't know what you're-" He stopped, Jade continuing to struggle forward. "You...you were at the pier, right?" he asked; he took her glare as an affirmative. "Well, uh, nice bumping into you again. But I really don't know what you're on abo-"

"What did you spike in my drink?" she cut across. Roger blinked, shrinking in the realization that she very nearly towered over him.

Gaping, he shuffled backwards, the plastic bag swinging in his arm not his worry any longer. "How did...how did you know?" he asked. Jade felt something snap at the back of her conscious, her grip tightening around the blades. "Hey, what are you doing?" the teen whimpered as she stepped forward, "What are you- _NO_!"

Dark red splattered along the street, Roger howling as he grasped his wrist firmly. Grey eyes widened as the stained blades struck down once more, slicing through his shirt. Blind with rage, Jade swiped several times, each slashing their mark. Roger squeaked, scrambling around the sidewalk when cool metal curved above his collar. Frantically, he gasped, his palm slapping over his neck as he bolted towards the corner, leaving the abandoned bag behind. The teen almost managed a yelp as footsteps pounded after him, following him up to the door labeled _Madam's Brewery for the Unknown._

The bell clinked as he raced in, arms flailing to a basket of dust, pressing a handful against his neck. Roger inhaled sharply once flesh began to stitch itself together. "What is going on here!"

He turned wildly to see Ruby standing at the back entrance, arms crossed. "There- There was this girl, she attacked me!" he wheezed, the madam immediately coming to his aid. The door rang the next guest's entry, sharp eyes snapping towards Jade. Madam Ruth furrowed her brows, briefly glancing over the red blades, the trembling limbs and the shaken breath. Pale eyes shifted towards her, steps slowly stalking their way towards the two. "There she is-" Roger began before being hushed by the woman.

"Be quiet," she hissed, standing to her height. Jade continued her pace.

The clock struck eleven beside the goth, immediately bringing her to the ground, shrieking in pure agony. " _God_! Make it stop," she snarled, Ruby glancing down towards Roger with interest.

"This isn't some maniac," she hummed quietly, grey eyes hesitantly meeting hers. "What did you do?" When no answer came, she forcefully repeated herself.

"I just gave her some of Nine!" he whimpered, slapping a hand over his mouth. Jade remained on the ground, pale eyes glaring at him weakly through her continuous wince. Glancing up at the woman above him, he continued. "I- I saw them at the pier and, and they were arguing a lot and so I gave her two drops because they would go well with each other! I- I didn't know the potion was going to screw up, I promise!"

"The potion _never_ messes up, the interpreter does!" Ruby snapped. "You _idiot_ , this is the worst case I've seen!"

"In a century?" Roger added hopefully.

 _"Ever_! And you gave her _two_ drops?" she wheezed. "Now come on," she turned towards Jade, "We'll go to the back now, alright?" Jade nodded, gingerly getting to her feet before clutching her stomach. Grunting, she stumbled forward, Madam Ruth wincing as the goth threw up over the counter. She shivered as Roger gasped, glancing at the other teen pitifully.

"What's happening to her?" he asked softly, worriedly glancing towards his aunt.

Breathing in quietly, the madam answered, "Part of the reason why she's like this, switching personalities left right and center, is because she's fighting the damn potion."

"What?" Roger quirked a brow.

"If you'd listen to me instead of playing around with this shit, Roger," she barked, helping Jade through the door, "You'd know that there are certain people with witch ancestors who will fight off potions!" She glanced towards the teen as he looked over the vomit, grimacing sadly. "Jesus Christ boy, that's one of the first things I've told you!" she snapped at his baffled expression. "Now clean up and join us!" He nodded obediently, scrambling for wipes and a trashcan.

Shaking her head, Madam Ruth ran her tongue over her golden tooth, wise, green eyes over towards the curious teen. "I'm terribly sorry about all of this," she murmured, apologetically, tearing Jade's gaze from the walls. With her face gaunt, Jade nodded, settling in the chair that Ruby had gestured to. "Now if my memory serves correctly, you were with her at the pier, yes? In my booth, I mean."

"Tori's always been a fanatic about Tarot cards," Jade mumbled sourly.

"Not a believer?" Madam Ruth raised a brow, bringing over her trusty deck of cards.

"Kind of, more of the things that _aren't_ decided upon by paper," Jade muttered.

The woman chuckled, nodding slightly. "Yes, yes, that is a good point... And these things don't always tell the utmost truth when the time comes - too many things could happen between handling these and the outcome," Ruby explained, adding, "Though I'd say you'd make a proper good witch."

"Thanks," Jade murmured dryly.

"Now while I try to find the card I pulled for your present..." Madam Ruth murmured, "Let's see why _he_ thought you weren't a couple. I'm assuming you were otherwise this wouldn't have happened." Jade only nodded, glancing over towards Roger as he awkwardly shuffled into the room. "Now...where are you at in your relationship then?"

"Erm...before the festival?" The woman hummed in affirmation, flipping through the Tarot cards. "We, uh...passed some stuff."

"Sex?"

Jade nodded.

"Now, how come you two where fighting then? Roger here said you two were," Ruby asked, pulling out three cards.

"We do that a lot," Jade mumbled, thumbing over her knuckles.

Within a second, a familiar card was set down in front of her, a moon shining above two canines. "This your card?" Jade nodded, vaguely recalling the very same presented to her at the festival. "You see, as I explained before, this card is neither good or bad," Madam Ruth explained, "This is the card of caution, delusion, confusion and risk... And, this time, it is very much true to what has happened. However, depending on the situation, if the person with this card desires what they want truly, the results will exceed their expectations..."

The woman watched as Jade took the card, eyes down at it with thought. "Now what is it that you desire Jade?" Her eyes burned before she dropped the card, hands over her face. Ruby pursed her lips, having no need to know. Flicking the cloth covering the glass sphere in the center of the rounded table, she glanced into it, muttering what others would deem as nonsense.

Moments later, Jade picked up her head, furrowing her brows at the ball. Within its mass it presented her room, sheets draping over their bodies from their nightly festivities. Jade was asleep, a small smile quirking her lips with a black bracelet around her wrist; she thumbed over the very same that was clasped around her wrist, worn from the months that had passed. Tori, leaning over her, pressed her lips against Jade's temple.

 _"I love you..."_

The words sent a blazing warmth throughout her chest, Jade leaning forward eagerly. Shakily, her hands clutched the ball gently, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Tori?" she whimpered quietly, the other two smiling gently.

Abruptly the ball was shrouded in grey, Jade dropping the crystal sphere on the table before rocketing off the chair. A dark figure stood in the ball, glaring out at Jade. Her reflection's features were stronger than what Jade's were, black horns growing at the sides of her head. Sharp canines presented themselves, pale eyes glowing furiously. _"She doesn't love you now, don't you think?"_ the entity taunted, folding her arms. _"Never again. Never again..."_

It laughed horribly, Roger staring at the ball. "What is that thing?" he asked, glancing towards the girl beside him as she cradled herself, squeezing her eyes shut.

"That is Nine as doubt," Madam Ruth murmured quietly, "This is the potion that resides in her. Another reason as to never jump to conclusions two seconds flat." The boy gulped, watching as the ball presented a hallway, Jade ramming another teen into the wall, brandishing her scissors and white teeth. In a flash, however, she whipped around, immediately cutting the same girl he'd seen at the pier. Ruby, done with what Nine had to offer, covered the ball, glancing down towards Jade. She settled to her knees, gripping Jade's wrist. "Listen to me carefully if you want this to become the past." Jade bobbed her head in a rush, carefully listening to the next few words. "This potion was never meant to be a love potion, though it can easily be one. This potion festers in the emotions of one, deliberately acting out of it. Usually, that would work without issue if there is no contradiction. This would cause the potion to split, attaching the majority of itself to the most powerful or most constant... Now this potion has to be giving intentionally to drive emotions in a proper way, though Roger didn't mean harm... _Right_?"

"Yes Aunt Ruby," he squeaked immediately, clutching the very bottle in his shaking hand.

"Now, potions will often go through a 'honeymoon period,' if you will, that will alter the course of one's fate. And from where I'm standing, it isn't looking all that grand," she murmured, eyes darting towards the Tarot card. "Now, if you want what the card says to happen, listen _especially_ closely to this. You only have a few hours left. Because you've been fighting off the potion, you've been more sensitive to that fact. Get what you desire before that time is up, then the potion will have no effect because you will have what you've desired, yes?" Jade nodded, picking herself up with the madam. "Now go, go and hurry up."

In a flash, Jade sprinted from the room, leaving the two alone. Roger, thumbing over the bottle, sighed, tossing the glass across the room. It shattered against the floor, Madam Ruth nodding softly. He beamed in his small accomplishment. "Now go clean it up," Ruby muttered, strolling towards the front desk. "And then you'll be coming to the front to see your punishment."

"Yes Aunt Ruby," he sighed wearily, foreseeing the rather heavy belt in his future.

 **. XIV .**

Irritated, she sighed heavily with her gaze resting on her reflections. The standing mirror sat in the center of the room, its cardboard box and bubble wrapping strewed carelessly behind. Tori glanced back towards the stairs, her sister's steps ghosting her thoughts. Shaking her head, the half-Latina made her way towards the kitchen, towel slung over her forearm before she went back to the partially loaded sink and dish washer. Within minutes, the rest were pushed into the counter before the dish washer door was shut closed, the sink finally empty.

Dark eyes blinked over her shoulder, _9:47_ blaring back in neon letters from the stove. Deciding she'd have some time, Tori began to stride over, attention to the screen. Her steps halted as she glanced to the window overlooking the metal basin. Groaning, she swerved around the counter, following her mother's previous orders. The singer winced once her bandaged hand - reaching close to her elbow from her palm and knuckles - gripped the window, shoving it open.

Almost immediately the night's fresh breeze hit her skin, turpentine filling her nostrils. Having her fill with the air, Tori meandered towards the television once again, switching off the lights in anticipation of pressing the power button. Once the remote's button was pushed, she sat down on the couch, earnest on what show to watch. She glanced towards the mirror, rolling her eyes as she recalled her sister's reasoning. "'I need more mirrors to look at _all_ of my angles,'" she mocked quietly, flicking through the channels. "Like you have a lot of angles to want to look at..."

"I _heard_ that," Trina spat, promptly spooking the half-Latina on the couch.

Tori only grinned sheepishly. "So when will you be back?"

"About eleven," Trina answered, eyes to her nails, "Why?"

"Just asking. I want to know when I can go to bed without you practicing your midnight yoga," Tori hummed.

"Oh quit it, you know it's doing wonders for my body," Trina scoffed, shouldering her jacket. That, as Tori sighed, wasn't debatable - it really was helping. "By sis," she called, opening the door.

"Bye Trina," Tori mumbled, not even blinking once the door had shut closed. Once finding a rather good choice for a show, Tori grinned, propping herself up comfortably with a pillow. Minutes passed, morphing into an hour. She glanced down towards her phone, the screen flashing as she quickly checked it. Her heart drooped as no answer to her _several_ messages were replied, her worries festering. Her thoughts drove her to dislike what she'd been watching - some Disney movie - her hands fumbling around for the remote.

In the distance, twigs snapped and dirt was trekked upon, just outside the window.

She ignored the rustling, however, switching channels of the television that struck her fancy instead. Her skin began to prickle as the susurrus grew more continuous, beckoning her to move to her feet. She jerked hastily from the couch as a figure scurried into the kitchen with a monstrous tremble. The figure groaned, hands clawing at the counter before she got to her feet. Tori froze as the other stumbled across the room, gripping all surfaces for support.

"Jade?"

At the soft voice, the teen loyally stood still, pale eyes blinking towards the half-Latina, the shadows of her own figure flashing with the television. "Yes?" she croaked ominously.

"Jade," Tori gasped, "You scared the shit out of me." The goth dipped her head down apologetically, the singer tilting her head to the side. "Why didn't you go through the front door?"

"Door?"

Tori grimaced at the lost expression turning towards the front door, Jade resembling a lost, cracked, porcelain doll. "Jade?" she asked, turning the goth's attention back to her, "What's wrong?" Jade stood, unmoving from her spot as hesitant eyes wondered towards the teen. "Come on, you can tell me."

She began her pace towards Tori, swerving around the couch and the mirror. "There was that kid from the pier... He- He..." Her gaze settled on the long bandages that wrapped around Tori's left arm, all brittle confidence dissipating. She started back, shivering once her hands brushed over the cold mirror. Eyes watered as Tori hastily rolled her sleeves down, Jade too in her own mind to notice that it was one of her own - black and grey - from a rather long night resulting in the bracelet around her wrist. "I'm sorry," she gasped, slowly bowing to her knees, "I'm sorry... I- I..."

 _"She'll never love you..."_ the figure whispered behind her, pale eyes sweeping towards startled brown.

Tori furrowed her brows as Jade trembled before her, eyes flickering to the mirror and then back towards the teen. As eyes strayed to the ground, she found the double's pair still on her, a smirk flickering across Nine's face. _"Look at her...she's now afraid of you. Won't ever go near you again..."_

"I'm sorry," Jade whimpered, shaking as Tori knelt down, listening to the mutterings of Nine.

 _"She will never love you... She will always be unhappy with you and your selfish schemes."_

She backed away, Jade choking in her sobs before snatching the remote from the couch. Her arm reached back, her livid gaze set firmly at the reflection of the mirror. The remote flew seconds later, and so had shards of glass. The cracks screamed in Jade's ear, the thespian grimacing at the several pale eyes glaring at her, surrounding her.

 _"She'll never love you,"_ Nine hissed, his voice echoing with the several shards.

Tori set herself on all fours, heart pounding against her ears. She scooted forward, Jade whimpering quietly.

 _"All you've done was give her some good grades and a good time in bed,"_ she continued mercilessly.

"Jade," Tori cooed, arms finding shivering biceps, eyes still to the floor. "Jade, _Jade_... Ignore th-that thing," she pleaded, sending scornful glares towards the shards of glass, their reflections dancing within them. "Listen to me..."

 _"She only wants you to sit tight and be the pretty girl."_

"No, I don't. Jade, stop, _please_ -"

 _"You cut her and she doesn't want anything to do with you."_

"Jade, _stop_ ," Tori barked frantically, Jade closing her eyes, "Look at me, that thing is lying. I do want you here, just don't _listen_ to it!"

 _"Why the hell would someone confront a maniac like you, going through a fucking window and smashing one of the plates?"_

Jade shuttered, whispering, "I-I'm sorry..."

Tori gasped, hissing, "Jade, shut _up_. Don't apologize if this demon is going through your head! Stop listening to it and just talk to me... I'm here for you just _please_ , stop-listening-to-it."

 _"She will never love you like you do."_

For a split second, all was quite. Tori felt her heart snap as Jade gave a soft whine, shaking her head. The necklace shone - just briefly - in the television's light, flashing two letters: _TJ_. A heart was cut around the two with care, though no other words were carved. It was the truth, even if it hadn't slipped from her lips since that night. Quickly, lips connected as Tori feverishly dove in, Jade's hands gripping her wrists in shock.

She pulled away, her hands gripping the sides of the thespian's face. "Look at me," she ordered calmly, glistening eyes meeting hers. "Jade...don't listen to it, _never_. Don't listen to what's in your head because it's wrong. Very wrong... Because listen here, to me: I don't like it whenever you bite people's heads off for being five feet from me or when you constantly argue but that's just it. You're just a rose. A beautiful, delicate rose that needs those thorns to show that it cares... Just please, _please_ , don't let your petals wilt just because of some bullshit about me hating those thorns, because I don't. I just don't want to have them impale my fingers every time something goes wrong...because it happens."

Jade nodded slowly, the whispers still attempting to coax her; they wouldn't reach her was she sat in Tori's grasp, her own grip around warm wrists. "Jade, the fact of the matter is, I love you. I love you and all of your thorns so don't you _damn well_ listen to those voices because they're wrong. I never would think any of those things...just...just don't listen to them." Jade mewled as lips pressed against her own.

Right then and there her heart exploded, the reflections in the pieces of glass blurring as she shifted her head against the half-Latina's shoulder, hands caressing her back. They flickered briefly, black flooding her view as pine filled her senses. As soon as she was drowning in turpentine, all was left. The glass shards spoke to her no more, only reflecting what was reality.

"I love you," she whined. Tori, with a watery smile, merely cried, clutching Jade firmly in her embrace.

* * *

 _Yes, this was inspired by the song...specifically the cover by The Clovers. I'd check it out if I were you. Now, as the summary says, this'll be just a collection of a bunch of stuff. Some inspired by songs and such, others just spewing from my brain._

 _Now, I know it's long, but to hell with it; it's long because I feel like it. :P But, I do hope the Roman Numerals helped for those who lost track._

 _Well, anyway, hope you enjoyed!_

 _:)_

 _PS- Happy Halloween (and Valentines?)! And yes I'll eventually sort my shit out. :P_


	2. Patterson Joins the Dead (For Real)

_Feb. 24th, 2018_

 _Hope you enjoy!_

 _:)_

* * *

\- Patterson Joins the Dead (For Real) -

"True love is like ghosts, in which everyone talks about and few have seen..."

-Francois de la Rochefoucauld

* * *

 _ **Tori's Perspective** **-**_

Drenched, wet, soggy, _whatever_ \- those were the only things on my mind as I remained curled on my couch, huddled with my thick alpaca-fur sweater and purple plaid pants. Even my toes were bundled up with thick, red socks. To my left sat Cat in slippers, a robe and blue pants. We both shivered, even though the thundering rain hadn't been hailed on our skin for nearly an hour. It plundered against the windows and door, sure, but not us. The heater was taking a beating, I can say that much.

As for Jade, though, I can't really say the same. She was too pissed to even venture out of _her_ car - not Cat's brother's topless convertible - to get warm.

It's her loss.

We continued to blandly watch the television, until Cat's phone vibrates against the coffee table. "You going to get that?" She turned towards me.

I arched a brow before muttering, "It's your phone." She groaned quietly, weakly reaching for it. A quick glare was thrown towards me, and I just scoff, "What? It _is_ your phone!"

"But I'm your guest..." I rolled my eyes: She was still going on about the damn conversation from earlier after having me make a huge _pizza_ just for her. Not a slice for me. "Oh, it's Jade," she perked.

"What did she say?" I asked curiously. She furrowed her brows, shifting a careful glance towards me. "What?"

"Nothing," she shrugged, "just she said a lot of bad words."

I grinned quietly to myself before mumbling, "Oh come on. Just tell me."

"'Tonight was the shittiest night ever and I hope all of the fucking tires pop on that stupid-ass vehicle,'" Cat replied, verbatim.

I paused for a few moments, feeling myself swaying with the ideas. "Well...you can't really blame her. I mean, first there was that creep at the gas station and it took us a few times to relight that candle," I mumbled. Cat nodded in agreement, setting the phone to her side. Shifting deeper into the couch, I felt my body tremble lightly at the thought of that candle. Every time we had lit the candle to set along with the other memorial pieces, it was quickly put out. Cat was adamant about having it lit as to not have the house smell like rain, but of cinnamon buns - of all things. Jade hadn't cared, though she wanted to get home (there wasn't any paranormal activity to entertain her). I, however, couldn't help but look at the other candles - they were all merely dried wax puddles in their dishes. The wicks on all of them, however, stood to the full height of each candle, untouched.

Everything about that I had hated. _Everything_.

Jade thought it was cool.

Cat thought nothing of it.

I found it sinister - it didn't belong.

The garage door opened, tearing me from my thoughts. "Hey Dad," I grinned softly before frowning at his own expression. "What's wrong?"

"You two visited Mona's house, right? To mourn and all?" He turned towards us gravelly. We both nodded softly before he mumbled, "Well uh, check the news. It's unfortunate..."

I quickly switched over to the Los Angeles' news network as he strode away, Cat sitting forward eagerly. _"-so by the time firefighters had arrived at the scene, Mrs. Patterson's house was already engulfed in flames,"_ the news reporter - Tom Haiden, I think - publicized, _"and it could not be saved."_

Cat, with her eyes wide, turned towards me. "Our candle..."

"No- _No_ , we don't know for sure...lots of things could start a fire," I said. It was more to assure me that nothing was wrong than anything else. "And besides, the candle kept going out like the other ones."

Cat turned back towards the screen as the video played firefighters putting out the flames with mists of water. "Yeah..." she hummed along.

 _"The cause of the fire,"_ Tom paused, looking at a deadly familiar looking glass jar, _"was this cinnamon bun scented candle."_ We both, in sync, put our hands to our lips - ah _shit_. _"Her house is in ruins and will not be able to be up for sale any longer. The police investigating this unfortunate event cannot determine who's candle this was, only that glitter was spread across the front porch."_ Cat gasped, clutching her hair nervously. I quickly scrambled for the remote, as Tom continued, _"Locals say that a pink converti-"_

The television was abruptly switched to a baking channel with an obnoxious background. I glanced towards Cat who did the same. She opened her mouth before a pressed my right index to my lips, shushing her silently.

I concluded that this was the last of this - _ever_.

And God be damned, I was wrong.

 **. I .**

I raced through the crowds, desperately bumping my way towards my locker. Eventually, I managed to after giving a few apologies. I unlocked it, competing against the bell's shrill as it called out for the weekend. A multitude of masks and other costumes had populated the school for the day, since Halloween is only _tomorrow_. I had nothing to sport for the yearly occasion, aside from bowl-duty. Trina, meanwhile, got to go out to her first Halloween-college-party (she made a great, big deal out of it) and my parents to...wherever. And I had nothing, except giving bratty kids their stupid candy.

As I shuffled through my locker, expelling any unnecessary items for the weekend, I figured that it could be worse: I could be stuck with Robbie in maintaining a haunted house. I really did feel sorry for Cat, though he did ask her and she said she would.

I jerked violently once a thrashing _smack_ sounds from behind. Turning around with my heart pounding brutally, I found Jade smirking with a textbook laying - I imagined very hurt and bruised - on the floor. My eyes narrowed at it before I realized it's my history book. "Uh...thanks for returning it," I muttered slowly, picking up the rather heavy book. She continued to smirk as I set it amongst my other notebooks and supplies, and I could already tell she wants something from me.

Jade never smirked for _that_ long unless she wants me to do something.

"What do you want?" I asked.

There's a wicked gleam in her eyes and - my God - I could already feel the despicable sentence she's about to utter. "I have an idea."

Of course she did. "So...what is it?" I replied; Jade really didn't elaborate much. When she bit her bottom lip, attempting to contain her smirk, I knew it's a bad one. A really, _really_ , bad one. "...Jade?"

"I think we should spend Halloween together," she explained, leading me to only stare at her. She goes on: "At Mona's house."

There it was, the sharp claws tearing my gut. Over the past few months, there have been several, _several_ , times where I have switched to the news and watched reporters - including Tom Haiden - swarm Mona Patterson's house. First there was May when passersby saw that her house was in near-pristine condition. The gardens outside were decimated like her porch, and the windows and doors were surrounded by a black hue. Other than that, the house was found to be perfectly fine. Then in June, there were the videos surfacing on YouTube - as a trend - that showed people sleeping over at her house. Tom, of course, marked the occasions by speaking into the microphone. And then there was September where some guy had apparently thrown himself from the second floor window. He was homeless, as Tom said, and he didn't make it. The whispers circling around the school only add to the ordeal.

And Jade wanted us to go back. She waited for me, staring right at me until I said something.

"Forget it."

She rolled her eyes, immediately dropping her daunting smile. "Oh come on, Vega. Why not?"

"Because," I shut my locker door, "I _don't_ want to. I don't like that house and I never want to set foot there again." Jade crossed her arms, ignoring the students filing pass us. "No, I'm not going."

"Come on, I just want to go in there and look around. See what we didn't see before, right?"

I shook my head because it is the worst idea I've heard today. And this week. "Jade, we caused the fire, _remember_?" I asked in a hushed whisper. She only raised a brow. "Jade, I don't like that house."

"Well, it's a better idea than sitting home with a bowl in your hands." I frowned because I _really_ don't think it is. Jade sighed once she realized that I didn't want to do it, even if that means I have to give candy out to the bratty kids on my street. "Okay, whatever. Just thought you'd rather have something interesting happen for Halloween before college," she grumbled before turning her heel. "I'll just have to have all the fun myself."

The thought of her going around Patterson's house - alone - pained me. For one, I'd hate to know what she'd do. I doubted she would wreck anything, though I wasn't so sure she wouldn't land herself in trouble with that mouth of hers. Then there's the image of her replacing the homeless man; as much as she isn't my friend (for a number of reasons), I'd hate to switch to the news the next morning to find Tom reporting on a dead goth laying in the front lawn.

So when I do sigh, I can only picture the smirk that had spread across her lips when she halted - not one out of excitement, but of hope. "Wait," I groaned. She looks at me with one eye over her shoulder. "Fine, I'll come with. But you better not have us in trouble," I snapped.

She raised her hands, promising, "Alright, alright. I'll pick you up at five tonight."

I immediately lurched. " _Tonight_?"

"Yeah?"

"I- I thought you said we'd be spending Halloween at her house!" I stammered.

"Well, the morning. There was a news article saying that the street will be closed for the parade they came up with this year, so we wouldn't have the chance tomorrow," Jade explained smoothly. She smirked at me as I gawped at her. "Five-thirty then... See you Vega." I watched her as she strode confidently - borderline _cockily_ \- out the doors and wondered why the hell I'm doing this. I knew it won't lead to _any_ good.

I swore haughtily - Jade's some sort of bartering witch.

 **. II .**

And now, I'm here.

Trina is settled on the couch, watching reruns of _Enemies_ while my parents are bustling around the house for a dinner. "So, wait... Honey, where are you two going?" Mom asks from the kitchen, her hands worrying about the casserole in a white dish. Trina looks over; this is the first time she's hearing about it.

I grumble, "I don't really know. She found some Halloween event in San Diego." My mom nods, too focused with the food to have a follow-up question.

"Who's taking you again? Beck?"

"No," I shake my head at his hopeful suggestion. "Jade."

"Oh." Even though I've told him at least twice now, he still gives a sigh of disapproval. "I thought she hated you. Didn't she push you off a set?" I nod hesitantly.

Trina intervenes: "And she sent her some petunias."

"Okay, yeah, she did. _But_ I didn't touch them," I mumble.

"Because of me."

Dad frowns. "Yeah...why are you going with her?"

Because I don't trust her alone with her fantasies, _and_ I don't feel comfortable knowing that Jade could land herself in a tight situation. "Well, she hasn't been _that_ bad to me lately." That last one is true, and probably the most true - the only one that's verbalized, anyway. My dad only shrugs as he fiddles with his tie, my mom carrying the casserole to the kitchen.

"David, could you help me with the broccoli casserole? I need to fix my hair."

As she leaves, Dad - without looking up - orders, "Trina, go put the dish in the car."

Trina rolls her eyes a groans. "I'm eighteen, Dad."

He pauses, blinking towards her. I suppress a grin as he arches a brow. "You haven't found a job yet, _or_ an apartment while you're watching T.V. Go put the dish in the car." Solely because she couldn't argue with that, Trina does her chore. The bell rings as she disappears into the garage, my dad striding to open the door. Upon finding Jade at the door, he grumbles, "Make sure my girl comes back in one piece."

Jade's lips curl into a twisted - though soft - smirk. "Oh, what about me?" As I step to Dad's side, I find what was supposed to be a stern, hardened gaze. The small grin ruins it; my dad and Jade have always had this weird feud. It's almost...friendly. After she gives a quiet chuckle, she nods and sincerely promises, "I will, Mr. Vega. She'll probably be back tomorrow noon."

He raises a brow. "Ten."

"Eleven-thirty."

Dad shakes his head with a wry smile before sighing, "Alright girls. Stay safe. I don't want to get a call from the hospital saying that you two need new faces."

"Bye Dad," and, "I'd hate to get rid of mine," are the two responses. The door is closed once we pass the lawn.

Once I'm _sure_ my dad won't hear me - and God forbid my mom - I comment, "You're an asshole."

Jade gives a half-hearted glare over her shoulder. "Relax. I'm not going to kill you, let alone break your leg."

"Yeah, like how you almost did last week before the play?"

She scoffs as the car unlocks. "That was Sinjin's fault."

"Uh huh," I hum, sliding into the car. "And you weren't the one who told him to kill the lights." As she buckles in, Jade shakes her head.

"You're telling tall tales," she retorts, the car blinking to life.

 **. III .**

Our conversations thereafter began to decrease in volume, then further apart. I began to feel my anxiety build up, my heart bouncing off of my ribcage. Still, I didn't say anything about it to Jade, though I knew she felt there was something up - not that she said anything. There were a few curious glances that spoke of concern, though nothing more. She didn't really say anything once we got off the highway.

That is, until: "You ready?"

I take a deep breath, murmuring, "Sure." The car beeps behind us as we cross the street, striding towards the house. It's even worse than the videos or pictures in person; I don't know how to explain it, especially since it's the same thing. It looks more daunting - or haunted.

I shiver at the thought, edging myself closer as Jade opens a short, iron gate that's painted white. We step across the lawn, leaving me to hate the house even more; with a squeak that I _know_ I heard, the door opens. Jade's expression is immediately one of a strange curiosity - one that I've only seen a few times. "I'm going to look around the back, see if there's anything interesting." My throat's tight with nerves, so I just nod. I watch Jade leave me, disappearing off pass some shrubs.

So now, I'm alone debating whether or not I should go onto the porch. I can see the house's interior from the doorway, and it looks nice, actually; the place is more modern then I'd expected. My gaze flicks towards the window, however. There's a black hue around it, the flames engulfing the house having left their mark. There's also cracks in the glass, a lamp in plain view beside shifting curtains. I frown. They ease still after a short moment, but I'm unconvinced. My skin prickles against the collar of my shirt so much that I shift my light jacket against my neck.

I don't want to go to the porch.

But...Jade will probably drag me in anyway.

Pausing, I close my eyes as I rub my temple.

 _I shouldn't...but I should. I_ shouldn't _but I should._ With my thoughts all jumbled, I step onto the porch. Immediately I feel like I've been dunked into a vat of ice, the horrible feeling gluing me to the spot. _I shouldn't_. My body hesitates as I dart my stare around the front entrance. _But I should._ I walk onto the porch and to the door. With my hand on the door, I notice how warm the metal is - almost as if it was just cooling from a lick of a flame.

"HEY!"

I scream and scamper back down the porch with a wide, toothy grin bearing down at me. I glare at her heatedly. "That's _not_ funny Jade!" I whine, whacking her shoulder as she chuckles her way down to me.

"I'm not sorry," she snickers. Jade leads me inside and closes the door, the chilly draft now blocked. I survey the room, finding another set of doors to the side. I give Jade another sneer over my shoulder. I find her still looking at all of the furniture and other trinkets, a cruel smile twisting her lips. As we near the kitchen, I look over towards great double-doors, finding a nice sun room. There's long benches - which I recognize from my dad's search for better storage units - amongst a plethora of potted plants and small tables.

I shudder when I hear small clicks. " _Jade_ , you said you weren't going to touch anything."

Jade shrugs as she tinkers with a tall, old grandfather clock. "I haven't seen one of these in years...what time is it?" I scramble to check my phone when she answers for herself: "Eight twenty-nine... Well, now it's six...nineteen." She flashes a quick grin towards me. "We can wake up before three tomorrow with this big alarm clock."

"Does it ring?" I ask, striding over.

"It still works, and it looks like it has new parts and all that...so it should. Anyway," she claps her hands together, "let's look through the whole thing." I groan behind her, shaking my head. I shiver, feeling a stare burning at my back, though when I look behind me, there's nothing there.

 **. IV .**

I feel my stomach lurch when she finishes her story, a bottle hovering in the air before smashing against the floor playing in my head over and over. I don't know if it's either because I'm startled by Jade's numerous stories, or if I'm just hungry. Jade leans against the couch, studying her knuckles. I assume she's hungry too when she asks, "Want a bite to eat?" I only nod slowly. "Oh come on, those stories aren't that bad. There's movies about worse."

"I know," I grumble defensively, "it's just different when you actually experienced some yourself."

She arches a brow as her fist balls around her keys. "Oh? Have you experienced anything... _creepy_? Watched the Teletubbies when you weren't supposed to and saw an ominous shadow in the corner?" Jade snickers as I huff, folding my arms. She grips the front door before wrenching her hand away from it. "Ow...what the-" Jade growls, twisting the door knob before jerking her hand once again. "It's locked."

I start from the couch, immediately gripping her hand. There's burn marks - light, mind you - that trail along her fingers. I find the remnants of a memorable burn etched in her skin, my mind going back to Sikowitz's house. "No..." is wheezed out passed my lips. I sink into a chair, Jade still standing by the door.

"...what?"

I look at her directly in the eyes. "We shouldn't have come here." Jade folds her arms, requesting another answer. "We shouldn't have come here, Jade. She's not letting us out!"

"Who?" she asks.

"Mona. Mona Patterson: She's been haunting the house, Jade. I- I've been feeling like we... She's been watching us." Jade blinks as everything spills out of me, my eyes burning. "Have you felt the same thing?" She only shrugs at the question, though I know - or at least hope - that she has too. "We can't get out."

Jade steps away from the door. "How do you know, though? Nothing serious has happened."

I shake my head. "I know how these things work, okay? My grandma told me that ghosts are hellbent on whatever goal they have in mind. They're dangerous because of it. I was _attacked_ because I wanted to visit her... You can't trespass on graveyards. I-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you going on about?"

"My grandma _died_ when I was a newborn, Jade. But I still was able to talk to her up until I was seven. I can talk to ghosts, okay?" I feel a pitiful tear leak down my cheek. "I can tell when there's something fucked up going on - like those damn candles. I _told_ you about them but you didn't listen."

Jade hushes me as she sinks down to her knees. "Okay, okay. Relax, Tori. We're going to get out, alright?"

"She's going to try to kill us. We destroyed her house."

"I- Yeah," she admitted weakly. "But Tori, I'll make sure you'll get out, okay?" I nod as I stand, Jade following my lead. "So, what now?"

"I guess we find her...ask her to let us go."

She looks at me as I wipe my cheek. "Are you sure?" I nod. We begin looking through the rooms, trying to find where she'd be. In all honesty, as we visit each bedroom, I begin to wonder why nothing _is_ happening. Other than the strange feelings, the house is completely normal.

"...Tori?"

I look up at one of the ceilings, immediately regretting my thoughts. A lightbulb hangs from the ceiling on its own, no chord or anything. "Uh...hello?" I ask quietly. As soon as the question is uttered, the lightbulb shatters and shards smash against the walls. I jerk away from the door as Jade does the same. The lights then decide to turn off.

Great.

Real great.

Finding a ghost without some light.

I hear Jade begin to fumble around for her phone. "God damn, I just had it in my...pocket." I furrow my brows once her face is illuminated in a white light. Then I realize the floating square in the darkness.

Text begins to type itself onto the screen.

 **It's about time we started this  
game girls. I've been waiting for  
this chance, you know.**

I fidget, feeling chilling tremors racing through my back. I gasp as soon as I feel warmth against my shirt, the cloth sticking to my skin. The long, twisting scratches along my back burn with a sudden flash, the phone cracking as I crumple to the ground. There's one final slash at my collar bone before the phone is smashed against the floor. " _Tori_!" Jade drops to her knees immediately, her hands finding my shoulders. I hiss at the pain, the lights flickering unsteadily as they hum back on. "Shit," she curses, "I- we need to find a medicine cabinet."

"What?"

"You're not walking around with flesh wounds if there's shit nearby," Jade growls as we hoist ourselves up. "You want that, right?" I nod since of _course_ I do. We stumble through the halls - the lights continue to play their games - Jade's tight grip around my wrist. She opens the door, grumbling about how this _witch_ is unneeded at the moment. "Alright, it doesn't seem like she's following us or anything..." Not now. "But, sit down there. I'll go through the bathroom."

The bed creaks quietly when I sit on the corner. The blanket is coated with a layer of dust, the pale patterns of flowers and vines dulled. The lamp at the side table blinks on before Jade strolls towards the bathroom, bathing the room in a quaint, orange light. The warm hue is only disturbed once the bathroom light hums, a long rectangle of white blinding the carpet. I hear Jade shuffle along the medicine cabinet as the long tracks of hissing pain prickles against my shirt. It's only when Jade's voice is right beside me when I see the antibiotic, alcohol and different bandages in her hands.

"What?"

"Take off your shirt. I can't get these cleaned with it in the way," she answers quietly. I oblige hesitantly, the long-sleeve eventually tugged from my shoulders. "And your bra."

I jerk, watching her with wide eyes. " _What?_ "

Jade quirks her pierced brow, snapping, "Your bra strap is still in the way. Just unclasp it." An exasperated sigh expels from my lips before I unhook it, settling with pressing the only layer of clothing to my chest. That whole issue, though, is nothing compared to the searing pain as she begins to gently rub my back with a damp rag. While her hands are soft, I still whimper to Jade's touch: The alcohol _hurts_. Even so, she continues working the back lightly, briefly visiting each cut. I press the bra against my chest tighter once she makes her way to the long, curved scratch at my collar bone.

There's a slow, awkward moment before she begins brushing the rag against the skin.

I wince at the light scratch, Jade's pale eyes flicking to my own. "Does it hurt?"

Nodding slightly, I swallow my small cry. "Not as much as the other ones, though," I admit. Jade's eyes remain focused on my collar bone, hands still rubbing against them softly. She moves to my back, spreading the antibiotics before placing the bandages over them. Because it's a quicker process, she's back to my chest once again. As I clip the bra back, I still feel her hand linger on the bandage. Her eyes are clouded as they survey the wounds. Before I can say anything though, I find her leaning closer.

Our lips connect, an immediate buzz running through my body. We move together before I lean away, my thoughts thumping erratically at the sudden, abrupt turn of events. "I-I-" I stutter, gawking at Jade. I immediately feel horrible, seeing her perhaps equally confused expression. "I- Jade-" I'm interrupted by a loud crash, the mirror shaking against the wall. There's no moment of speaking as I shrug on the shirt, stumbling after Jade.

We head towards the kitchen, our steps slowing around the corner.

Jade staggers back at the scene; knives are floating in the air, all hovering and facing the two of us. That isn't what brings our hearts racing a marathon a minute, however. It's the horrid woman standing behind the floating knives, her eyes glowing viciously and dress in a sinister light. We don't have to ask who she is.

It's Mona Patterson, dead or not.

 _"What are you two doing in my house?"_

I shift my eyes briefly to Jade, not surprised when I find a blank stare. She doesn't understand her.

I clear my throat, mumbling, "We- we were here to apologize..."

Mona folds her arms with a wicked scoff. _"Liar. Halloween's tomorrow._ That's _why you came. You came to mock me and my house."_

I shake my head earnestly. "We didn't mean to intrude, honest. We don't mean to mock or-"

 _"Silence."_ My eyes flood to the knives as they begin to spin. _"You two burned down my house. You two burned down the only thing I was proud of."_

"We're sorry. We never meant to. We meant to pay our respects, our friend, she was a huge fa-"

 _"I don't fucking care!"_ she snarls. There's a smirk that spreads across her face, one that doesn't bode well for either of us. I find my hand immediately snatching Jade's. _"I'll make this fun. You can't get out, as you know, but...you'll be able to be free of this house on one condition -"_ I tense, Jade's hand balling into a fist around mine. _"- you have to stay until three."_ I quickly blink towards the microwave, gulping down a knot: It's eleven-twenty.

My eyes dart to the knives as they remain still, winking at us in the light. "Jade, run," I whisper before we abruptly dart to the side. I whimper once the knives hit the wall that was behind us, wobbling as they sink deeper.

 _"You won't make it!"_ Mona snarls in the distance as we bolt down a lengthy hall.

This is the worst game of hide-and-seek I've played.

"Come on, in here," she hisses over her shoulder before I'm tugged into a room. She closes the door after ordering me to hide in the closet. After a few moments, I tense when I hear the shuffling of clothing. Jade stands beside me in the darkened corner. We hear stomps rocket down the hall, Mona completely passing the room. "What else should I know about ghosts?" she asks quietly.

I clear my throat, processing the question. "Well...they're, uh, they're not exactly physical. But they still do follow some of our natural laws. Basically, if there's a boundary like a wall or something, they can't go through it. Like I said before, they're not physical, basically the remains of somebody's mental self, or whatever. As they get older, they become more and more poltergeist-like, and less human." I like my lips, narrowing my eyes in search of other needed information. "Silver. They can't stand silver... Something like silver was cursed to be the only pure metal to control them, I don't know. But I know it burns them. And it can't be fake silver or part silver. It has to be pure."

Jade nods. I can practically feel her concentration on the noises at the opposite side of the house. "So if they're human, they'll still make human errors?" I bob my head. "We'll use that and hide until three, mess with her. Something like that."

I begin to chew at the inside of my cheek. I feel a twinge of guilt at my chest. "Jade?" She shifts her gaze towards me. "A-about that...uh, about what happened in the bedroom." She sighs, shaking her head.

"Forget it."

I purse my lips - which still buzz from her warmth minutes prior. "No, Jade, I mean it. I just- I didn't expect it and so I was just-"

" _For-get it_ ," she seethes through her teeth. I clench my jaw, ignoring any impulse to speak any longer. Instead, I listen to the footsteps padding towards us.

I hear the doorknob twist before muttering, "We have to go..." Jade only nods curtly before we bolt out of the room, not allowing Mona another second of thought. Of course, a lone lamp soars through the air, whistling passed us and into the wall. My feet already burn and I know this night's barely started.

 **. V .**

"I fucking hate this bitch," Jade grunts as she shoves a desk to the door. It rattles against it, the smashed lamp (which had teetered to its end when Jade moved the desk) rolling off the floor.

"I hear you," I grumble, darting towards the other side of the room. I swing the door open and there's a small latter going up - the attic. Jade turns to me as I wave over, her steps hurried - though quiet - as she follows. The door is closed behind us, and so is the trapdoor. The attic is actually quiet large; there's desks, chests, wardrobes, mirrors and cabinets all around. We snake along as silently as we can, the door rattling and the knob squeaking below us still. Even though her cold grip around my wrist is comforting, when I cast a few glances towards the side, I shiver. Jade gives me a curious brow before I point towards the dusty wigs set on manikin heads. It also doesn't help that the heads all have eyes drawn on them, each one apparently following us as we step pass.

She halts, her brows furrowing. Turning to me, Jade mouths, _"One way out."_ There's a part of me that feels the hope diminish, and another that just shakes its head: Attics usually only have _one_ exit and entrance.

 _"Where then?"_ I ask silently. Her eyes scour for a hiding nook. Moments later, I follow her finger towards a desk with a large mirror, some blanket draping over the legs. It's perfect - we could hide under the desk's skirt. I nod slowly before we take a few steps.

However, there's a sickening jolt when we hear the desk downstairs move. I imagine its leg digging into the floor as it groans. " _Quickly_ ," she hisses sternly, her voice barely audible. We move forward, especially with the loud _bang_ from the room below. Jade lets me slip underneath the blanket first before she joins, curling beside me. Another door smacks against the wall - it's the one that leads to the ladder.

"Jade," I whine softly, "I hate this spot... I have a bad feeling."

She gulps, her head bobbing her agreement. "I saw the bookshelf was crooked beside it-" Her sentence is cut off when there's stomps storming up the ladder. Her hand cups my ear as her voice - shakily - whispers, "Check to see if there's room beside you." As my hand creeps underneath the blanket towards the side, I feel frigid air crawl against my skin while the trapdoor slams open. Jade's right though: There's a pocket from the crooked bookshelf. I tap her shoulder, jerking slightly once she jumps.

There's a quick, silent conversation before we scoot towards the pocket. It's a tight squeeze, but Jade is able to not touch the blanket at all.

We sit there, stock-still, listening to the creaking footsteps and grumblings. There's some scraping and moving things around, each begging me to let out a startled whimper. I don't though, not with the tense air suffocating me, the need to not speak for I'll die before I can and Jade's hand clasped over my lips, her other wrapped over my torso.

They get louder and louder, briefly pausing from time to time. I startle once books from the shelf begin to move haphazardly, tossed to the other side of the room. There's another slap against the bookshelf - one that I've heard a couple of times now - which reminds me of my dad whenever he can't get something to work. If the car isn't running, he slams his palms against the steering wheel. The toaster broken - he smacks the thing before he plugs it in. The internet being shit - my dad would pound against the keyboard until something is solved.

As Mona moves on, the books tipping to the side in front of me (the backboard, where we are, has a huge hole in it), I feel tears well. Questions begin to strangle my thoughts, my hope in getting out. They become more exaggerated when I hear the blanket lifted in an angry motion, her glowing eyes peering to the spot where we were just a minute or two before. _What if we didn't move? What if we don't get out? What if we're found on the front lawn, dead with our eyes open?_

I close my eyes, the tears streaming down my cheeks and travelling across Jade's knuckles.

My skin prickles against the collar of my t-shirt. _"I'll find you at some point, girls... Mona has a lot planned."_ I'll never know if she knew we were in there and said it, or mumbled it under her breath, thinking that we hid underneath the bed and got away. Jade's hand tightens around my waist, holding me closer to her. We hear her leave, though, stepping away from the attic. Jade's heart still hammers against my shoulder, neither of us moving from our uncomfortably close position. Scratch that, actually; it is comfortable, only because I can feel that Jade's alive and just as terrified as I am. Beside her thumping chest, her breath washes slowly against my neck, hitching ever other second. I can feel her hands grow more clammy by the minute, but again we don't move.

As the minutes stretch on, we hear shrieks and loud _cracks_ echoing throughout the walls of the house. Even though with every single livid noise, our breathing ease together. We actually _lost_ her. I don't know how we managed to, but we did. My eyes wander towards the desk. Maybe it was because of the tall jewelry box concealing us more. That, or perhaps she didn't know about the bookshelf being off-kilter.

For what feels like hours, Jade and I remain listening to the sounds, our joints beginning to ache. She clears her throat, humming, "Check your phone." Her hands don't remove themselves from their grasp as I shift, my phone then glowing a bright white. We blink rapidly as I turn the brightness down, showing her the screen: _1:57_.

I pull at the hand clasped over my mouth before murmuring, "Do we stay here?" She nods against my neck, her arm then clutching my right bicep.

My eyes settle to the room through hole in the bookshelf. I find my grip tightening over Jade's arm against my waist, the manikin heads staring at me from across the attic. The jump abruptly once there is a horrendous thud, toppling to the ground. Jade's mouth opens before I slap my own hand over it. I feel her lips against my palm as there comes another _boom_ , some shattering scratching against my ears seconds later. I look through the hole again; there's mirror fragments littering the floor. I hear Mona bellow, _"Where the hell are you, you wretched whores?"_ She's close by.

A hand shoots to my mouth before I get a chance to let out a shriek once the trapdoor snaps against the floor.

I feel her steps as they pound against the wood, her glowing eyes glaring throughout the room. _"I know you're here somewhere..."_ she snarls. There's sickening crunches as Mona Patterson steps onto the shattered mirror, and I can't do anything but watch her. Clawed nails are scratching along the desk tops, the doors to the wardrobes and even the walls. I hate it, I hate all of it. Jade is tense against me as I'm frigid against her.

Internally I begin to pray, long and hard, for me to live through this. _I swear I won't comment on Trina's screeching anymore._

Mona shrieks, a desk with stacks of boxes crumpling to the floor in a distorted pile. Her eyes swarm towards a large chest with a broken lock.

 _I swear I'll donate the rest of my money to charity, like to the poor, hungry, strays...maybe even the poor hungry strays._

The chest shudders as she nears it, the lid snapping open with a horrendous squeal. Papers amongst papers fly everywhere, covering the floor with white. I close my eyes - only briefly - once a small letter, something like a thank-you note, flutters to Jade's shoulder.

 _Just please...please, can she not catch us? Please, can Jade and I not be dead in the corner of this filthy attic?_

The envelope slips to the floor at our feet just as Mona screams again. The room suddenly smells rancid and smoky, the ghost flinging objects at random towards the walls. Many of them hit the book case. Some of them whiz directly towards my head, bringing me to Jade's chest. She cradles me tightly, her hands covering me as much as they can.

 _Please, please, please, please, please._

I don't know what blasts through the hole, something that made it twice as big, but it slams against my hip and ribs. As much as I internalize it, my nails digging into Jade's skin even through her clothes, I let out the quietest yelp I can manage. The room is quiet thereafter, a clucking hum coming from the other side of the attic. I already know what it means - no need to look up. Mona heard that.

 _God please, something happen. I swear, please...please, please, pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplea-_

My pleas were answered: There's a long, droning chime racing throughout the house. Mona hisses, murmuring a quiet, though vicious, _"There you are..."_ She whips pass, flooding down the ladder with the chimes still ringing. Hesitantly, I pick myself off of Jade, finding a small - now broken - lamp on me. The shade rolls to my thigh as I look at Jade, gasping at the few bleeding cuts at her jaw. I reach out to touch them before she slaps my hand away.

"I'm fine," she grumbles. I furrow my brows, noticing the disbelief and awe in her eyes. "The grandfather clock..." she whispers. I arch a brow. Jade looks at me, a small smile cracking across her face. "The grandfather clock," she says again, "I was messing with it earlier, remember? I put it a few hours back."

A shaken laugh flows from my mouth; and I said she was an ass for doing such a thing. "Y-you're a god-send," I stutter, "I- I could kiss you right now." There's a warm, comfortable smile before it morphs into a frown of thought. "What?"

"She left because she thought _we_ were messing with it. _now_." The chimes, as she finished her claim, stops. Her eyes dart to mine, a blanket of worry amongst them. "We need to go, _now_. When she finds out what really happened, she'll know we're here." A knot ties itself at the base of my throat, constricting any voice that I have left. So I just nod. She grabs my wrist tightly, leading my through the blanketed desk. The attic now looks as if a tornado came in and had a frat party. I gulp, however, briefly imagining the papers replaced by my body parts as I step down the ladder.

The bedroom is a mess. The mattress is torn and the desk is pretty much in shambles. Jade leads me with her fist around my wrist, eyes darting to every possible hiding spot. "What about the sun room?"

Her answer is breathy: "It's on the opposite side of the house."

" _Exactly_." Piercing eyes shift back to me before Jade nods, continuing with our quick pace. We make it to a long hallway, a lone, mirror in the corner glinting at us. Jade jerks, shoving me back towards the end of the hall.

"Go, _go_ , she's coming around that corner!" she hisses violently.

I find a door and jerk it open. "In here?" Her forceful hand at my shoulder answers for me, pressing my body against the shelves. We barely manage to close the door with the two of us in the closet. My eyes lower to the crack at the bottom of the door - there's barely any light. Though, I still can see the shadows of Mona's stomping steps as they stream pass. We wait in the small space for a few minutes, listening to the terrible tremors coming from the attic. Once our hearts calm down, we decide to move. Jade opens the door as quietly as she can, only closing it once I was standing at the corner. This time, I take her wrist and walk to the sun room.

As we dart from room to room, our minds are collectively on the long storage-bench.

 **. VI .**

I don't know how we manage to squeeze into the bench. But we do, and also come to find that Mona wouldn't go near us again. Sure, she'd run through the kitchen and make a wreck of things - which shares a wall with the sun room - and even shattered one of the windows with a lone knife. So we wait, bunched together within the storage unit, our backs pressed together. At first Jade had the idea of the two of us hiding in separate benches, though I disagreed: There wouldn't be any way of knowing what we were doing. She didn't argue, instead jamming the contents of the bench into the other one.

"Tori?"

"Hmm?"

Jade shrugs, grumbling with the loose nail that had been digging into her shoulder for the past hour-or-so. "What time is it?"

The house is calm, so her whisper sounds like a pencil dropping during a testing period. I hold my phone up, murmuring, "It's two fifty-three." I spend a few moments listening to her worries die down before grinning to myself. "It's almost time before we can get out."

"Yeah..." She allows a few chuckles. "Yeah, it is. I was thinking though, what if it isn't the end?"

"How'd you mean?"

I can practically feel Jade purse her lips at the thought, a quiet whine sounding throughout the house. "What if...she doesn't let us leave? I mean...she _really_ wants us dead." I don't say anything because I know she's right. There's nothing stopping Mona from doing us in, nothing except two things: we're apparently well-hidden and her promise. Ghosts can't break their word. They're bound to them since all they are is a psychic force.

But they can make loopholes for themselves.

Which is why we need to get out of here as soon as we can.

I grumble quietly, "Jade, let's try though. Let's get out of here while we still can."

"But it's not- What time is it?"

I check my phone. "Two fifty-eight. Look, Jade, we can get out of here without her knowing. We can get out of here and never speak about this again, never come back here." Her answer takes long moments, but she does lift the lid by a crack, peering out into the room. Another minute goes by when she announces that it's all clear.

We clamber out of the bench, still feeling the corners and walls that boxed us in at our joints. Even so, we continue forth, making our way towards the front door. There's nothing - nobody - around. We're in the clear, it seems. As Jade clutches the handle, turning it to open the door, I feel a strange twinge. It gets more extreme by the second, exaggerated by my anxiety. As the door creaks open, I flat-out feel a chill run down my spine.

 _"Where are you two going?"_

Jade, who still holds the doorknob, turns over my shoulder, a terrified scowl etched in her face. I look behind and find Mona Patterson sneering at the two of us. My voice cracks, "It's three. We're leaving."

She snarls, _"Oh, you are leaving the house..."_ I feel something shove against my side, flinging me out through the door as it closes with Jade still gripping it. We're both flung out onto the concrete path, groaning at the impact. As we scramble to our feet, Mona wrenches the door open. Before she's able to say anything, Jade and I bolt towards the small path, and then to the gait. The white-painted iron gate closes a few feet from us, halting our steps.

Jade spits a few obscenities before reaching her hand to jerk it open; it doesn't work. "Ow! _Fuck_ , not again!" she snarls, gripping her blistering right hand. We both turn at the sound of a snapping twig, Mona leering at us with a humorous grin. Jade narrows her glare before snapping, "Leave us alone!" She steps in front of me, her left arm out. Mona only arches a brow.

 _"You're never leaving this property,"_ she seethes. I widen my eyes as she darts forward, jerking Jade's hand. We snake around the corner before sprinting towards the lengthy back yard, stampeding towards the woods.

"How much of this is hers?" I ask Jade through a grunt.

"Most of it," is all her answer.

I let go of her hand as we charge forward, hurling ourselves over piles of leaves and logs. Once my breath hitches, I look over my shoulder; I can't find Mona. But, I do still hear her wails. We continue booking it to wherever we can, Jade leading one moment and me the next. And as we continue to race through, I begin to wonder _just_ how much property Mona owned.

Irony decides to have fun seconds after I think the thought. Jade - with a foot or two ahead of me - rockets through the air and into a tree after some explosion. I was lucky to only fall onto my back. "Jade? _Jade_?!" I screech, shuffling to her side. Jade blinks her eyes, looking half-dazed and half-nauseous.

"...wut the fuck?" comes drawled from her lips.

I grin softly despite myself. "I think we can't go that way." Jade shakes her head, a small smile forming as well. It's immediately dropped when a tooth falls from her mouth.

She licks her lips, feeling the blood before scowling. "God damn it," she growls as her fingers pick up a molar. I grimace, picking up my gaze.

It feels like a fist had rocketed to my lungs when I see glowing yellow eyes dancing at us, her white dress illuminated in the early-morning's light. "Jade, we need to run." I scamper up before helping her to her own feet. I grunt once she trips, wheezing about her head splitting. "C'mon, we need to go." She nods, perhaps blinking the ringing pain away. It's only when Mona shrieks, screaming vulgar language at us when we sprint down the declining woods.

Like before, our path twists and turns away from her, loosing her attention fairly quickly; it also helps that we're faster. Somehow... I like to believe that the holy-mother-fucking-Christ-we're-going-to-die feeling is encouraging our adrenaline. Even with the screams' volume dying as we run away, we still - you know - _run_. I glance over my shoulder, finding that there is no ghost behind us. That move proves to be a bad one though.

I feel a livid pop as I slam my foot into a sudden hole, my whole body twisting. I slam into the ground, Jade halting not a second after. I curse, gripping my ankle. I can practically feel it swelling under my fingers. Even though my heart is still pulsing with a need to live, I still can't help myself think and loath my current situation.

 _Wow..._

 _What a great time to twist your ankle._

Jade ushers me, helping me back up. I take a step forward before grunting, collapsing into her grasp. "I- I can't," I hiss, feeling my eyes burn.

"Come on: Arm," she grumbles. With my arm over her shoulder and vise versa, we stagger through the trees. I feel my hope start to disintegrate: We aren't covering as much ground as we were before. Not that we would've lasted as long as I would've liked, not with our wheezing breaths. Jade - through her breaths - stammers, "We'll...we'll go over and- and hide out with those trees over there. Maybe it'll take her longer to find us when we're not running around like lunatics."

I nod numbly, giving a weak, "Yeah." Once we reach the small grouping of trees, she leans me against one. As I settle down, she lowers beside me, her eyes wondering around. I know what Jade's thinking, which is a rare thing: If this will be enough to fool Mona, and if our mud-splattered, dark clothing will be camouflaged against the trees. The chill sinks into my skin as we sit there, shifting to huddle against one another.

The sky draws my gaze towards it, the small twinkling stars and soft, light black paling to blue. There's no wicked ghost to be heard, only the whistling night-creatures turning in while the others begin blinking awake. I'm so lost in straining my ears to listen pass the harmonic sounds that I barely hear Jade.

"I'm sorry..."

It's weak and nervous, immediately snapping my attention towards her tearing eyes. "I- We should've never come... I should've never..." Her gaze drifts towards mine, becoming more glassy. "I'm sorry," she finishes, "I- I never meant to get you hurt."

I brush a stray tear before humming, "It's okay, I'm alr-"

"No, _no_ , it's not. You told me before and I-"

I shake my head. "You didn't know. I can't blame you," I sigh. "Just...just stay here, with me, and I'll be good. Okay?" Jade nods slowly before her arms wrap themselves around my shoulders, her warmth battling against the cold air.

I burrow myself in it, to the point that I don't remember closing my eyes. I do remember, though, her pulsing heart as I felt her fingers draw circles against my back.

 **. VII .**

The world around me is blurred when I wake. I blink the poor vision away, only to feel a sharp throb at my temple. I clutch my head as I sit up right, glancing towards the tree, furrowing my brows.

I don't know where Jade is.

The thought immediately sends a pang straight through my chest as I whirl about. She's gone, my eyes only catching the wind rustling against sodden leaves along the ground and trees. The early sun gives the air a nice, orange glow.

I don't fucking care, however.

I don't know where _Jade_ is.

My eyes slide towards the irregular tracks leading away from the tree. Thanks to my dad, I know what they mean: She was drug away against her will. Leaves are thrashed away from the muddy lines which are far from straight. They jerk from side to side, depicting her prior writhing struggle. It's only a few moments later when I hear my name. " _TORI!_ " It's shrieked across the woods, my skin prickling against my shirt. I stand up before staggering; I forgot about my damn ankle. Toppling to the ground, I grip it tersely, my eyes stinging. It's swollen with dark purple bruises lining the heel. Jade's scream pick up my attention once again, and I decide that no little sprain will stop me.

I force myself to my feet, then to step forward. My ankle slams my knees to the ground and I let a whimper loose. Though, I start up once again, struggling towards her inconsistent shrieks. I ponder at the idea of me _sleeping_ through hours of her calling for me, or even a few minutes. It sends an arrow of pain through my breast, one that I'd rather have two sprained ankles than it. After a few paces, I crumple against a larger, tougher oak, my stare settling towards the blurred figures a few yards away.

I wipe my eyes, revealing a horrific scene. Jade shivers as Mona throws large branches at her, only adding to the large gashes sliced through her clothes, namely her arms. The wretched ghost sputters some garble that I can't understand from here, Jade whimpering in response. As I stagger to my full height - I use the tree as a support - the branch sends a violent whack which hurtles down at her. Jade cries out in agony, her other arm clutching her right tightly. " _Fuck you_!" she snarls, spitting at the ghost's feet.

 _"You don't stop, do you?"_ Patterson snaps in response, sending another blow to the same arm. Jade doesn't understand her words until the branch slashes against her shoulder. She collapses completely to the ground, her body shivering in horrified tremors. When I hear her whimper my name, it is only then I notice just how close I am behind Mona. I never even noticed my steps away from the tree, or even when I acquired a branch of my own.

I raise it as I would a baseball bat, my seething glare set right on her white head.

Mona's head, however, turns like an owl's as I swing. The branch crashes against the tree as she dissipates into the air, a vile, ruthless chill biting against my skin. Jade whimpers as the pieces of the branch shatters above her, splinters digging into my palms. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Jade," I croak. She peers at me weakly, a watery smile crossing her lips. I help prop her against the tree, grimacing at the state of her. The right arm - though it's not the worse I've seen - is a crooked, bloodied mess. There's a long cut that runs from her temple to the side of her cheek, and a dark bruise settled underneath her left eye. There's cuts that run beside deeper gashes along her neck, and several jagged slashes down her forearms.

"It's fine," she manages, her voice just as hoarse as mine. "Just get my scissors...she hated them."

"What?"

Jade rolls her eyes. I can't even believe she has the capacity to do that, at the moment. "My scissors, over there." She points towards a glint in a murky puddle. "The damn bitch got me over here and I started to pull them out-" Jade coughs "-and then she threw them away. Her hand burned as soon as she did too."

I furrow my brows before I understand. "They're pure silver, aren't they?"

"Damn right. I swear I'll give Cat all the money in the world for giving me those for Secret Santa." Jade grunted as she resituated herself, leaning against the tree with a more sunken frame. Bushes rustle in the distance (admittedly, not all that far but with this fucking ankle, a few feet is _far_ ), Mona Patterson staring at the two of us with a scornful gaze. I immediately haphazardly dart towards the scissors. She follows with her obnoxious wail, streaking across the trees. I stumble at the last few steps, my hand frantically gripping the water for the blades.

As I whip around to find her sagging skin and rotting flesh, the scissors shine in my fist. "Get away from me, you _bitch_ ," I warn lividly.

 _"You wouldn't dare,"_ she hisses. In a quick motion, I slice at her creeping hand. Mona whines as she shuffles away, clutching her smoking wrist. _"You fucking whore!"_

I scurry away before worming my way in between trees awkwardly before Mona pounces towards where I previously was. I nearly feel as if I am at a safe distance when a cold, tight hand snatches my twisted ankle. I sob loudly, my leg attempting to jerk free from her grasp. "Let me go!" I scream.

 _"This is all your fault! I can't leave while my house is in ruins!"_ she shrieks back.

"Well maybe this wouldn't have happened if you just put a 'No Candle Please' sign out on your lawn!"

I don't have any clue as of why I shouted _that_ and neither did Patterson. There was a short silence of us just blinking at the thought. Before anything else, I quickly hurl myself towards her, slashing her arm that still grips my ankle. She wrenches herself away from me, away from my ability to catch her with the silver edge. So, I throw it - right at her head. The scissors flail towards her throat, plummeting through her. Nevertheless, she clutches it tightly, dark, brooding smoke coming in tendrils from her fists. She emits a terrifying roar, her clawed, knobby, raw hands reaching for me.

And then she's gone, burnt in the sun's light. I find it a tad bit anticlimactic.

Heavy breaths spill from my lungs as I weakly laugh my surprise. My hands grip the ground tightly as my watery gaze blurs over. Once I wipe my eyes with my dirty sleeve, I look over towards Jade. Hastily picking up the scissors, I trudge my way towards her, her slumped body a sudden, crippling worry. As I come closer, I sigh with relief: She's breathing.

Jade opens an eye slowly, the other blocking the sun. "Is she dead?"

My answer is hesitant as ghosts, from my knowledge, are already kind of dead. "I...think so," I mumble slowly.

"Good," Jade hums, closing her eyes. "She was an annoying bitch anyway."

I chuckle weakly, settling down beside her. "Yeah, well...it was kind of your fault that we were here, no?"

Jade scoffs before her pale eyes flash open. "My fault? I wasn't the one who put the candle down!"

"Neither was I," I remind her.

She pauses before growling, "God damn it, Cat." I shrug, handing her the silver scissors. Jade glances down towards them with a blank expression. "Forget what I said about giving her all the money in the world. She's not getting a fucking penny. Not _one_." I only smile as she continues with her short rant, watching the soft breeze brush against the trees. After a short while, we sit in a silence, just appreciating the fact that we are _not_ dead.

It's a good feeling, I'll tell you that.

"Jade?"

"Hmmm?"

I skirt myself towards her, leaning my head against the tree. She watches me with an arched brow, waiting for me to say anything. I don't have anything to say, I find, though it apparently suits us both well; I feel her grip my jaw with her free, uninjured hand, lips gently brushing against my own. The kiss lingers for a few seconds, and I don't want it to end, not like how it had before. It breaks momentarily before I indulge myself deeper. And I find, as she pulls away, even with her split lip, my heart still skipped a beat. "How about we just get out of here?" she whispers softly. I nod slowly, following after her as she stands up. Unlike me, she stands strongly on her two feet as she helps usher me through the trees. We struggle, as I wobble about, around the woods, soon finding the sidewalk. In the distance, Jade's car blinks as she presses against the remote keychain.

We venture up the sidewalk, slowly making our way towards the vehicle. "You know what we should do next?"

"Go to the hospital?" I ask.

Jade shakes her head. "No, after that."

I furrow my brows before replying, "What?" I feel like I've dug myself a hole just by doing that.

"We should watch 'I Married My Mom' when we get back." I halt at her smirk, glaring at her. She isn't kidding. "Come on, we can burn them after."

With a tight grin and a shake of the head, I sigh, "Fine, whatever." We snicker as we continue to hobble our way, the car close to our accessibility.

"Whoa..." I then stop at her breath, turning towards Mona's house. My eyes open wide at it, and I gawk in disbelief; the house is completely demolished. All of the wood is belittled to a crisp while the stone in the structure is black. Any furniture and such left are stacked in messy mounds, littered along the floors and what framing is left of the structure. Together, we watch the house for a few more minutes before shifting into the car and driving off towards the closest hospital.

We silently agree never to explain what we saw that night, nor how we start to date. We silently agree to lie about how we managed to land ourselves in the hospital - especially to my dad - and why Jade needed a new phone; a story about some crazy people at the Halloween event was told instead.

We also silently agree to never speak about how the candles remain (as we saw them) to be untouched, the wax melted with their wicks straight. Nor do we speak about how the cinnamon bun scented candle's flame flickered, right on the step where Cat had left it.

In fact, we agree never to tell Cat why we burned her favorite television show after watching them.

* * *

 _Didn't get this idea from a song, but from the episode,_ Car, Rain & Fire _. Basically, what would happen if Patterson really did die, Cat, Tori and Jade did go over to pay their respects and the candle still burned down the house...? The answer? A really pissed off Patterson ghost who tries to kill Tori and Jade when they revisit the house for fun._

 _Anyway, the first chapter of this collection wasn't necessarily "horror"...kinda more like psychological horror I guess. I've never really done horror so I'm kind of still learning the ropes. Hopefully I manage to get a bit more in there with this one. I have a couple more ideas too, so they'll be coming whenever the mood strikes. ;)_

 _But, on another side note, you can see how slow I've been getting with this from the literally first few words on here. Dunno why, but whatever. Though, if you wonder how long it takes me to do stuff, just look up top. It changes. ;)_

 _Hope you enjoyed this one!_

 _:)_

 _PS- Happy Halloween whenever it is._


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